𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆, luke castellan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Luke's lack of response to the kiss signaled victory for Keira.

He didn't reciprocate by placing his hands on her waist or syncing his lips with hers. Instead, he remained motionless, as if trying to process the rapidity of her actions. Keira understood that he had likely spent months imagining such a moment, yet when it finally presented itself, he couldn't align his actions with his desires.

She slowly pulled away from him after a few seconds, her hands leaving the tanned skin of his cheeks to elegantly cross in front of her chest as she analyzed his expression with a sideways smile.

Gods, his face was the eighth wonder of the world.

And not precisely due to his finely crafted features. It was his utterly bewildered expression that she couldn't tear her eyes from. His bronzed cheeks were slightly flushed, and his blond hair was tousled from how he had been lying in the sand moments earlier, granting him an effortlessly disheveled yet undeniably attractive appearance. His eyebrows furrowed in a mix of confusion and intrigue.

His lips were slightly parted, hinting at the difficulty in processing what had just transpired between them, and his piercing blue eyes were wide open, their intensity fixed on her face, sparking with a mixture of emotions.

Tension rippled through his muscles as though a primal instinct had been triggered in response to a threat. Notably, his jaw clenched after a fleeting moment, as if realization dawned that she had just kissed him.

Keira understood the significance of preserving the element of surprise in her actions, and once again, she had delivered. Luke hadn't anticipated such a reaction from her, especially not after the cruel prank he had played on her with the spider, and after attempting to bruise her ego with his comment following their kiss by the sword-fighting arena.

"I kissed you and felt nothing."

He is feeling something now, isn't he? Keira thought to herself as she widened her smirk, reveling in the subtle triumph of her unexpected move.

Luke gritted his teeth, trying to decipher her motives for kissing him. This had to be another one of Keira's dirty tricks. It couldn't be a coincidence that just when he was struggling the most with his thoughts about her and what she provoked in him, she had chosen to seek him out and kiss him out of the blue, only adding to his confusion.

"What the fuck was that?" His voice, tinged with frustration and disbelief, emerged more bewildered than angry.

Keira smiled innocently, giving him doe eyes.

"I think I just kissed you."

Luke's fists clenched involuntarily, his frustration mounting. "You think it's funny, don't you? Messing with my mind like that?" he snapped, his tone edged with anger.

But admitting vulnerabilities in front of Keira Blackwell was a grave error.

The girl brought a hand up to scratch her head, furrowing her brow in feigned confusion. "Messing with your mind? Why? You felt nothing, right? That's what you said the other night. That when we kissed, you felt nothing."

"You're cynical," he spat with disdain.

"And you're delusional," she retorted, amused.

"I don't want you kissing me," he hissed, the anger simmering within him, fueled by the realization that thinking of her had ruined his night, making the words spill out uncontrollably. His voice now carried a sharper edge, and as she noticed it, Keira's mischievous grin widened. "And I sure as Olympus don't want you anywhere near me."

Keira recognized that the opportune moment to play her trump card had finally presented itself.

"Well, that's a shame, because I was thinking we could pick up where we left off on the beach back in December tonight."