Free Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle) by Melissa F. Hart

it.”
     
    She turned and as I watched her walk away, I felt suddenly bereft. She hadn't taken a few steps when I felt the hairs on my neck stand up in alarm. I heard a soft whining sound and before I thought about it, leapt towards her and pushed her flat on the roof. The bullet winged past us and got lodged in the wall of the chimney. From where we were on the roof, thanks to extraordinary eyesight, we could see it was a silver bullet.
     
    “Are you okay?” I whispered into her ear. She nodded in response.
     
    I felt her trembling beneath me and, taking hold of her arm, we floated through the roof onto her bed. I was scared, too. A silver bullet wouldn't have killed her, but it could have done potential harm.
     
    “Someone shot at me,” she said in shock.
     
    I wrapped my arms around her and she clung to me. It had been eight long months since I'd had my arms around her. Eight long and lonely months. And even though the circumstances were grave, it still felt so right. I dropped a light kiss on top of her head and rested my cheek on her hair. Her hair smelled of strawberries and chocolates and I inhaled deeply.
     
    As I exhaled, I felt desire course through me and knew an almost desperate need to kiss her. I felt a change in her as she suddenly tensed up. Her breathing had turned shallow and there was a different quality to the tremor which shook her body.
     
    I drew back and cupped her face in both hands, forcing our eyes to meet. The desire I saw in hers took my breath away, even as I knew it was most likely an exact mirror of what was reflected in mine.
     
    I gently stroked her hair, drinking in the sight of her. She was so beautiful, and it was more than just the way she looked. I knew that if I kissed her, things between us would change irrevocably. I had wanted to wait till her eighteenth birthday, and that was still five months away. But I was done with being noble. I wanted Luanne and I was going to have her, even if I had to be content with just a kiss for now.
     
     

Chapter Four

 
    He was going to kiss me. I knew he was going to kiss me and I wanted it almost more than I'd wanted anything in a very long time. I knew that a kiss from him could mean potential heartbreak, especially if he kissed and ran like he'd done the last time. But even knowing that, I still wanted it. Besides, there was something different about him.
     
    “I'm going to kiss you, Lu,” he said softly, his deep voice doing funny things to me so that I could only nod.
     
    When he still didn't kiss me I opened my mouth to tell him to get on with it but he placed a finger over my lips.
     
    “Hear me out. This is not like the last kiss we shared. If I kiss you now, you need to know that there's no going back.”
     
    I frowned in confusion. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? I was afraid to hope. “What do you mean?” I whispered.
     
    “It means that if I kiss you, then we're together. You and me, Lu. No more dates with random guys.”
     
    “Now wait a minute!” I drew back in annoyance. Was this simply the act of a jealous man? Even though I sort of liked the fact that he was jealous, it showed he had strong feelings for me; I did not want to be kissed out of jealously.
     
    “No. I don't want to kiss you out of jealousy. I won't deny that I would like to personally crush the dumbass who took you out today, but it's only because he did that before I could.”
     
    I thought I'd protected my thoughts from him, but I must have been more agitated than I guessed. “You know what? Just kiss me already.” I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and, pulling him close, kissed him.
     
    He closed his eyes and moaned and kissed me right back. The force of emotion was so strong that I closed my eyes in reaction. His arms went around me and pulled me closer to him, all the while we were kissing. Before long, we slowly went down onto the bed. He lay down and pulled me over him, without breaking contact. I sank my hands into his