Chapter 6: First Kiss
1169 Words
The First Kiss Wasn't Supposed to Happen
The first kiss was not part of the plan.
At least, not yet.
The plan was supposed to be simple.
Make them notice us.
Make them curious.
Make them want us.
Make them fall in love.
Then, eventually, we'd deal with everything else.
The problem was that Cassian Blackthorne apparently had no interest in following my schedule.
And neither did I.
---
It happened three days later.
Three days of glances across breakfast.
Three days of Cassian appearing whenever I wandered somewhere alone.
Three days of his hand occasionally finding the small of my back when we passed through crowded rooms.
Three days of pretending that none of it affected me.
It did.
God, it did.
But I refused to be the first one to admit it.
That afternoon, the estate hosted a small gathering.
Nobles came and went.
Music played.
People laughed.
Mira and I sat together while Cassian spoke with several men near the fireplace.
I wasn't watching him.
I was simply aware of where he was.
There was a difference.
At least, that's what I told myself.
Then a young nobleman approached me.
“Lady Aria.”
I looked up.
He smiled.
“May I say, you look beautiful today?”
“Thank you.”
His name was Lord Everett.
I vaguely remembered him from the book.
A minor character.
Completely harmless.
Which meant he was perfect.
“Would you care to dance?”
I hesitated.
Then glanced toward Cassian.
He was watching.
Interesting.
I smiled at Everett.
“I'd love to.”
Mira's eyes widened.
She knew exactly what I was doing.
We walked onto the dance floor.
The music began.
Everett was polite.
Nothing more.
But Cassian's gaze followed us the entire time.
I smiled.
Maybe jealousy would speed things up.
It certainly did.
The moment the song ended, Cassian was beside me.
“Enough.”
I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
His eyes moved to Everett.
“Thank you for the dance.”
Everett looked confused.
“But—”
“Leave.”
Everett immediately left.
I turned toward Cassian.
“That was rude.”
“I know.”
“You had no right.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you do it?”
His eyes settled on me.
“Because I didn't like him touching you.”
My heart skipped.
“You're jealous.”
“Yes.”
He said it so easily that I forgot what I was going to say.
“You admit it?”
“I have nothing to hide.”
I smiled.
“You're adorable when you're jealous.”
His eyes darkened.
“Don't.”
“Don't what?”
“Tease me.”
“Why?”
He stepped closer.
“Because you're going to regret it.”
I should have stopped.
I didn't.
“Maybe I like making you jealous.”
His hand settled around my waist.
“Then you're playing with fire.”
I looked up at him.
“Maybe I like fire.”
For a second, neither of us moved.
Then he leaned down.
I knew what was coming.
And yet I didn't move.
His lips touched mine.
Softly.
Briefly.
Almost cautiously.
The world stopped.
It was nothing like the kisses I'd imagined.
It wasn't rough.
It wasn't possessive.
It was careful.
As though Cassian was giving me one last chance to pull away.
I didn't.
His hand tightened slightly around my waist.
The kiss deepened for one breath.
Then he pulled away.
We stared at each other.
His expression was unreadable.
Mine probably wasn't.
Because my heart was trying to escape my chest.
“That…”
I stopped.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes?”
I swallowed.
“That wasn't in the book.”
His expression changed.
“What?”
I panicked.
“I mean…”
Think.
Think.
“That's not what I expected.”
He studied me.
Then a faint smile appeared.
“Neither did I.”
He walked away.
Leaving me standing there.
Completely stunned.
---
Mira found me five minutes later.
“You kissed him.”
I stared at her.
“He kissed me.”
“You kissed each other.”
“Yes.”
She grabbed my shoulders.
“Aria.”
“I know.”
“You kissed the man who kills you.”
“He hasn't killed me yet.”
“That is not comforting.”
I started laughing.
Mira joined me.
Then she suddenly stopped.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
She pointed behind me.
Adrian.
He was watching us.
And he was smiling.
That was never good.
---
That night, Mira disappeared.
I found her hours later.
Her cheeks were bright red.
I immediately knew.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Mira.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Why are you blushing?”
“It's warm.”
“The hallway?”
“Yes.”
I stared at her.
She sighed.
“Fine.”
She collapsed onto my bed.
“Adrian kissed me.”
I grinned.
“Finally.”
“It wasn't supposed to happen.”
“Neither was mine.”
“What did Cassian say?”
“That he was jealous.”
Mira's eyes widened.
“Adrian said something similar.”
“What?”
She buried her face in a pillow.
“He said he was tired of pretending he wasn't attracted to me.”
I laughed.
“Poor Mira.”
“This isn't funny.”
“It is.”
She threw the pillow at me.
---
Later, I couldn't sleep.
I kept thinking about the kiss.
About Cassian.
About how carefully he'd touched me.
How easily he could have taken more.
But he hadn't.
That mattered.
The man from the original story had been cruel.
This man wasn't.
Not yet.
Perhaps there was something we'd missed.
Perhaps the original story had never shown us the whole truth.
Or perhaps—
we were changing him already.
I turned toward the window.
A shadow moved outside.
I sat up.
The door opened.
Cassian walked in.
I stared.
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you.”
“At midnight?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He closed the door.
“Because I couldn't sleep.”
My heart skipped.
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because I keep thinking about kissing you.”
I stopped breathing.
He walked closer.
“Does that bother you?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He stopped beside the bed.
His fingers brushed my cheek.
“Because I don't think that was our last kiss.”
I looked up at him.
“Cassian…”
He leaned closer.
Then stopped.
“Tell me to leave.”
I knew what he was asking.
Not permission to kiss me.
Permission to stay.
I smiled.
“Stay.”
His eyes darkened.
And this time, when he kissed me—
I kissed him back.
The story had officially changed.
And neither of us knew how far that one kiss would take us.
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