Free From the Embers (The Born in Flames Trilogy) by Candace Knoebel

leaned into him, pressing him down against the cushion of grass beneath us. My kisses grew more urgent. It had been so long since I had been with him. I needed him. I needed to feel normal.
    He rolled me over, tucking his hand underneath my hair to prop my head up, kissing my neck and mouth. I moaned, pressing myself against him. “I need you,” I told him, gripping on to his back.
    He pulled back slightly, his eyes dark and hooded. “Not here. Come with me.” He pulled me off the grass and tugged me around the edge of the island.
    “Where are we going?” I asked, keeping up with his quickened pace.
    “Somewhere we won’t be interrupted,” he said earnestly.
    I giggled and kissed his cheek. By the time we made it to his destination, my nerves were on fire. Images of our first time together raced through my mind, igniting a burning passion inside of me.
    “We’re here,” he declared, pulling me inside a wooden structure that was on the other side of the island near the Pavilion. It was built the same as the Lyceum, but on a smaller scale.
    “What is this place?” I asked, fidgeting with my hair. I was suddenly aware of how I looked and wished I had a minute to freshen up.
    He peeked into the first room, checking for any unwanted visitors. “It’s where Kaede’s visitors stay. Underneath it is a secret room I stumbled on one day while I was checking out the island. It holds a bunch of stuff, like ancient artifacts or whatever. No one will find us there.” His eyes glinted with mischief when he looked back at me.
    “Oh, yeah?” I laughed. It felt a little wrong, which only excited me more. “After you then,” I taunted. He kissed me hard, stirring up the tingling butterflies that had taken a momentary break. Then he pulled away and left me reaching through thin air.
    “Come on, slowpoke.” I raced after him, weaving through the sliding doors and down the hall. “Over here,” he called through the next room.
    I came around the corner, laughter gushing out of me, and bumped into a stiff form. “Soothe!” I jumped, holding my hand against my rapidly beating heart. “What are you doing here?”
    He stared at me for a moment, indulging in the embarrassment clearly written on my face. A twitch of a smile appeared as he ran a hand through his tuft of dainty hair, smoothing it down.
    “I should ask you the same thing since these are, after all, my living quarters.” There was no mistaking the humor in his tone.
    I cleared my throat. “Fenn…uh…just wanted to show me something,” I said a little too quickly.
    Soothe smiled. “I bet he did.”
    The burn in my ears traveled all the way to my cheeks.
    “Rory, come on…oh,” Fenn called from behind Soothe, halting as soon as he saw us. “Hey, Soothe,” he slid in without hesitancy. Soothe turned to face him, and I leaned over, glaring at Fenn over Soothe’s shoulder.
    “Alone?” I mouthed at him with narrowed eyes.
    He coolly shrugged. If he was any bit of embarrassed, I couldn’t tell. His face was a mask of composure. I wished I could hide my emotions that well.
    “To what do I owe this honor?” Soothe asked in his usual languid tone.
    Fenn didn’t miss a beat. “I was just showing Rory around. Sorry to have woken you.” He tried to step around him, but Soothe stopped him with a hand.
    “Allow me to leave. You were taking her to the Artifact Chamber, correct?”
    Fenn nodded.
    Soothe quickly turned around, staring down at me. “I believe Aurora will find it intriguing. Maybe even,” he paused for effect, “helpful.” My mind went on high alert.
    He walked past us and stopped in the doorway to say, “Oh, and congratulations on the engagement,” and then stepped out into the night.
    I looked at Fenn, wide-eyed. “Seriously?”
    He hung his head, a small smile lining his lips. “I hadn’t planned for that.” He chuckled, tugging on my hand.
    My hand covered my heated face. “That was so embarrassing. How much do you think he