Chapter 16: Bared Hearts

• Mink's P.O.V:
• Every nerve, every cell seemed to buzz to life in that one single kiss. Every sense was on overdrive. I don't know when I was laid on my back on top of the boulder but the coolness of the stone felt like a stark relief in contrast to the heat that was smoldering my every sense. Too long. I'd gone without touch for too long.
• The memories of my past flashed before my eyes, snapping me away from the pleasures of the present. Only one person before this had incited such feelings in me, given me hope and comfort only for it to be taken away from me in the cruelest way possible. I didn't want to relive that pain ever again. That's why I had kept my distance. But this kiss, right here, right now, felt too right, too real.