Chapter 40-1

This was Marley's first kiss. After Aiden pulled her to his chest, her heart was singing when pressed his lips against hers. The next few beautiful, heart-stopping seconds were frozen in time. Neither moved in the moment after their lips touched. The feelings were indescribable. Marley was lost in them, lost in everything she felt like she'd been waiting for since the day she met him. This was everything he had ever made her feel, all at once. Heat. Pain. Hope. Hopeless. Faith. Happiness beyond happiness. Love. She wondered if he felt it too. She wondered if his world was falling apart, too. Aiden's responding groan to their colliding energy was as encouraging as it was maddening. Beautiful as it was torturous. He pressed her body against the gazebo with his, and shifted his lips against her own. Marley's eyes fluttered at the sweet friction, at the absolute bliss, her hands curling around the bars of the railing behind her when Aiden tightened his grip on her hips. She he