As if his words hadn’t already undone me completely, Cassian leaned in — slow, deliberate, certain — until his lips found mine. The kiss was soft at first, tasting faintly of wine and warmth, a promise laced with longing. My hands trembled against his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart beneath my palms. It would have been so easy to let it deepen, to lose myself in him entirely, but before the world could fade away, he pulled back with a quiet chuckle that brushed against my lips.
“As much as I’d love to have a good dessert right now,” he murmured, his tone playful yet weighted with meaning, “there’s something I need to tell you first.”
His hand moved to my cheek, thumb tracing my jaw in slow, reverent circles as he looked into my eyes — not as a man hungry for touch, but as s
