Aurora froze for the briefest moment when Asher suddenly closed the distance between them and captured her lips with his.
The kiss caught her completely off guard. One second she had been struggling to keep her eyes open, exhaustion weighing heavily on every part of her body after the long journey, and the next every trace of sleepiness had vanished beneath the warmth of his mouth.
Surprise flashed through her, but it lasted only an instant before she melted into the kiss. Her hands rose almost instinctively, finding their place around his shoulders as she kissed him back without hesitation. The world around her seemed to disappear. The cave, the darkness, the cold night air beyond the entrance - none of it mattered anymore. All she could focus on was how right this felt and how much she had secretly wanted this for far longer than she had been willing to admit.
