Page 85 of The Art of Being a Psychopath

I stood up and let him lead me off the blanket to the grass, and he put his arms around me, swaying us both to the music. It felt so right, being in his arms like this, feeling the warmth of his body against mine. I had my arms wrapped around his shoulders, and as my fingers grazed his neck, he sighed.

“I like this,” he said quietly. “It feels right. You feel right.”

I knew what this was leading to, and I had to ask, “It feels strange being relaxed like this when everything has been so messed up. Is our timing off?”

“Not at all. I think our timing is perfect. This is happening right when we need it.” He pulled away to look down at me as he continued to hold me. “Life can be simple. We can make it simple. We just need to make the right choices, for us.” And then he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. “And this is the right choice. I know it is.”

He cupped my face in his hands, and then, the ghost of his lips on mine turned into a proper kiss, a toe-curling kiss. His perfect, soft lips caressed and teased me until I fell headfirst, opening my mouth to him.

Our tongues tangled and teased as we tasted each other. My body grew needy as his hands threaded through my hair, pulling me closer and deeper into his kiss. As caressing turned more frantic and greedy, I fisted his hair, too, wanting more.

We stood under the fairy lights and the stars in the night sky, igniting something which had been sparking between us ever since we’d met.

I could’ve kissed this man forever.

It felt like his kiss was hypnotising me. Pulling me into a magical world where nothing else mattered, only him. The rest of the world fell away as we held onto each other, devouring each other. But I wanted more. Wetness pooled between my thighs as we kissed. Promises of what came next teasing me until all I could think about was getting home, letting him take me to bed, feeling him inside me, driving me wild. I wanted it all. I felt reckless and wanted to get lost in him.

Eventually, he pulled away slightly, and with his face close to mine, he whispered, “Your lips are so soft. Soft and gentle, just like your heart.”

“Promise you’ll take care of them,” I whispered back, and he sighed as he closed his eyes for a beat, and the flicker of a solemn smile graced his beautiful lips.

“I’ll guard them with my life.”

He leaned forward again to kiss me, slowly. A true kiss that showed he meant what he said, then he pulled away to look down at me.

“It’s getting late. We should head home.”

I wasn’t going to disagree.

I glanced at the blanket with the food wrappers and glasses, and he read my mind as he said, “Don’t worry about all this. I have staff on-call, ready to come and pack it all away and leave the park tidy. Come on.”

He held my hand, threading his fingers through mine as he led me back through the park.

“It must be nice to have people at your beck and call,” I mused as we strolled in the moonlight.

“It’s nicer to have someone by my side,” he replied and as he glanced to the side, at me, the last brick in my wall crumbled away.

When we got to the car, he kissed me gently before opening my door. Then he got in the car and smiled across at me as the engine roared to life.

We drove home listening to his playlist as we both grinned to ourselves and made small talk. And when we pulled up outside the manor, I didn’t wait for him to open my door, I got out and went to him, holding his hand as he led me up the steps to the front door.

Once inside, he kept hold of my hand as we walked up the staircase and down the corridor to my room.

Or were we heading to his room?

I really didn’t care at this point. I just wanted to be with him.

When we got to my door, he stopped and took my face in his hands.

“Tonight has been... amazing,” he said, leaning forward to kiss me. It was a slow and sexy kiss, his tongue stroking mine as he tasted me.

But then he pulled away.

“Goodnight, Emma.”

He kissed my forehead, then let go of me and took a step back.

My racing, hopeful heart gave a painful twist as he turned and walked away.