For one brief, stunned second, Caleb did not move.
Sonia’s lips were pressed against his, soft and warm, her hands gripping the front of his jacket with surprising determination as the moonlight spilled across the palace garden and the quiet night air seemed to freeze around them.
Shock coursed through him like a jolt of lightning.
Then instinct returned.
Caleb pulled back sharply, his hands coming up almost automatically as he grasped her shoulders and gently—but firmly—pushed her away from him.
The sudden distance between them seemed to echo louder than the kiss itself.
Sonia stumbled half a step backward.
Her cheeks turned violently red.
Her wide brown eyes searched his face, clearly expecting something that had not happened.
And when she saw his expression—confusion, surprise,
