“You can't get under my skin." We'll see about that. "Maybe not under it, but I've been on top of it before." He pursed his lips, but the corner of his eye twitched. "I've thought long and hard about this moment, about you and me." I carefully let the words pour from my lips like honey until he grew red-faced, bothered. "Especially about that time we broke your bed." And he missed. Ouch, outer ring. I scoffed. "Still struggling to hit your mark, I see.” DartsEnemies To Lovers RomanceVerbal SaltSexual InnuendoBelittlement Book:Second Time's a Charm Source: Second Time's a Charm
“My body, blood, and soul fumed. I no longer felt the ground under my feet. I couldn’t see anything but him. The very heart in my chest burned and raged and set my skin ablaze. My fingers strained, feeling every spark, ember, and flame even through my bones. Water lined my eyes. “I don’t get what’s between us or what you want. It drives me mad.” “Yeah? And don’t you think I hate it, too?” Laken stumbled back, shaking his head before aiming his glare back at me. Golden locks hung over his face, slightly damp from the rain. His eyes were as stormy as the sky above us and twice as fierce. “It kills me,” he confessed; the muscles in his throat pulsed. Somehow, he’d dwindled the space between us. I could smell the honey and mint. The scent that once lingered on my bedsheets. “It kills me to see you and not touch you. It kills me to hear your voice knowing it won’t say my name like it once did.” Laken looked at me as if I was something more, something to be hurt for. “Being around you kills me.” Each word, a wound. Laken and I both panted, both toeing a dangerous line. Traitorous. Treacherous, even. But still, I pushed further. Straightening my spine, I lifted my chin and scoffed. “Good,” I said, deep and slow. Daring to step closer, only inches remained. “I hope it hurts. I hope you pray for mercy. And I hope it leaves you aching when you go to bed. I will make it my life’s mission to ensure that you are in pain every day for the rest of your life, thinking about me.” Laken devoured the distance parting us, leaving nothing but him and me. My eyes flicked to his lips, as his did to mine. Heart to heart, heat from his chest pummeled into me. I felt him so close, yet not close enough. Never close enough. Never far enough. Our lips were separated by a thin line of love and hate. And that line was beginning to blur. Slowly, torturing ourselves, taunting ourselves, he whispered, “Do your worst.” Slow Burn RomanceSexual TensionEnemies To Lovers RomanceMagical Encounter Book:Second Time's a Charm Source: Second Time's a Charm
“Laken read my favorite books to feel at home. All this time, all these crippling days of doubt, and he’d sat by himself in other kingdoms reading my favorite books so he didn’t feel alone. I bit my lips to hold back my grin. “Does this mean you want to talk about your favorite fictional conspiracy theories?” Laken locked eyes with me. A mischievous grin made me hope he thought the same things I did, and we talked for hours. Though his theories didn’t always match up with mine, it almost felt like, dare I say it… we were friends again.” Conspiracy TheoriesEnemies To Lovers RomanceBook Discussion Book:Second Time's a Charm Source: Second Time's a Charm