Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
A burst of quiet laughter pealed from my chest when he began to run down the street, pulling me behind. I had no idea where we were going, the wind whipping through my hair. The breeze slapped my face—I felt so alive.
Cael’s long legs ate up the distance we were covering, trampling snow under our feet. My breath came quicker the faster we ran, my chest burning with the cold. I grew warmer and warmer, sporadic laughter still sailing freely from my heart.
Then we turned a corner, and I came to a dead stop. I clutched onto Cael’s arm, as I looked out before us. “The beach,” I said, taking in the sight. Snow covered what should have been a grassy verge on the approach, but the sand was untouched, and the water was flowing just as easily as on the beaches back in Georgia.
It was a dream brought to reality.
“Cael,” I said, turning toward him.
“I had to show you,” he said, simply, like it wasn’t the most perfect gift he could have given me. The brightness of the snow made it so everything was visible in the dark, the stars up ahead like earth’s very own string light decoration.
In the space of a few short hours, I’d had my eyes opened to the most glorious scenes I had ever encountered. The clouds were heavy above us and the cold breeze whipped up my hair, causing goose bumps to leave tracks on the back of my neck. But I was here, in this place.
I was lost in paradise.
“Come on,” Cael said and led me over the snowy verge and onto the golden sand. We came to a stop at the water’s edge. Even in the winter it looked crystal clear and inviting.
“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” I asked, awestruck once again.
“Just once,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. I turned my head to him to ask what that was. But by the way he was looking at me, eyes focused on my face and adoration in his gaze, I quickly caught on to what he was implying.
I swallowed my nerves, my face heating so much I knew he’d be able to see my blush, even in the dark. Cael stepped closer, then closer still. I was frozen in place, watching his every minuscule movement. My breath came quicker, and those butterflies were back accosting my entire body. Cael didn’t say a word as he stopped before me, so close I could smell his addictive scent and feel his warm breath on my face.
Freeing my hand from his—the one he no doubt felt trembling—he removed his gloves, then, with his bare hands, gently cupped my cheeks. He was so tall and broad, athletic and strong, yet handled me like I was a prized possession he didn’t want to break.
His silver-blue eyes dived into mine, and he pressed his forehead to my forehead. That intimate touch brought instant calm. This was Cael Woods. The boy who had captivated me. The boy whose heart had somehow become inexplicably attached to mine. The boy who was fast becoming my safety.
I didn’t speak, didn’t utter his name. I just let the heat of our bodies pass between us, sharing this intimate space. Cael moved back, brushing the tip of his nose down my cheek. My breathing came quicker and my eyes fluttered closed. His fingertips ghosted over my cheeks, a soothing motion. Then his nose met mine and he reared back a fraction. I felt the intensity of his heavy stare. I opened my eyes and saw the question hovering in the static-thick air crackling between us.
I smiled, and that was all the invitation Cael needed. Closing in, he pressed a kiss on my lips—tentative, a gossamer touch. The neon lights that we had just watched dance before our eyes seemed to take root within me. Each flare moving in time with my every heartbeat as Cael’s lips pressed to mine again, harder this time. I gripped on to his arms, holding tightly to this boy, giving me my first kiss.
His lips were soft and warm and filled with so much trust and affection. The northern lights and stars had rendered me speechless—this sensation was like soaring through a sunrise. It was life and death and all that rested in between. It transcended any feeling I’d ever had before and wrapped me up in beauty so tightly it was euphoric.
I kissed Cael back, shyly at first. But as he framed my face and licked along the seam of my lips, I fell into the dreamlike state his minty taste and careful touch brought to this moment. I parted my lips, giving his tongue permission to join mine in an intricate dance. One of his hands broke from my face to pass over my neck and thread into my hair. Our kiss deepened, my heart beat faster, and feelings I’d been so terrified of releasing exploded inside of me, bringing a beaming light to my nerves, showing them that there was nothing to fear.