Summary: An extension of the airship scene in Book 3 between Kenna and Diavolos.
She tells herself that if Diavolos hadn’t been standing so close, she wouldn’t have kissed him. It’s partly true; she probably wouldn’t have kissed him tonight, if he hadn’t pressed his lips to the back of her hand, and if he’d been standing farther away from her in the confined space of her room on the airship.
But Kenna knows, deep down, that she would have ended up kissing him at some other time if she hadn’t tonight. She’s torn, a little bit, in the second before she grabs the collar of his shirt: she barely knows him. His father killed her mother. She beheaded his half-brother. He’s infuriatingly cocky and arrogant. But he’s also intelligent and surprisingly caring and considerate, though she gets the feeling he would laugh if she told him that. And, if she’s being honest, it doesn’t hurt that he’s also good looking.
She reaches for his collar and pulls him towards her, his lips melding with hers instantly, then spreading into a smile as he says, “Oh. So it’s like that?”
“If you want it to be,” Kenna answers with a grin.
He tugs her back in, one of his hands tangling in her hair, the other wrapping around her waist and holding her tight against him. His mouth is hungry against hers, his kisses growing more and more insistent as she presses against him.
When they finally pull apart, they’re both flushed and panting. Diavolos grins at her, then laughs and brushes his fingers gently over her cheek.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I first saw you,” he admits.
Kenna can’t help but laugh too. “Probably a good thing you waited.”
“I don’t know, it would have made that dinner party a lot more interesting…” he muses.
His eyes crinkle as he smiles at her, then leans down and brushes his lips lightly over hers again. Her hands wander down over the front of his shirt and wrap around his back as he presses another quick kiss to her mouth.
Kenna can’t stop the smile that spreads across her face as he kisses her again, another all-too-brief kiss that leaves her wanting more. When he leans in for another kiss, she sighs against him and deepens it, a quiet moan leaving her mouth when he glides his hands low on her back and bites her lip gently.
A burst of laugher and a slamming door below her room startles them apart. Diavolos laughs and shakes his head.
“If only we weren’t on an airship,” he says. “I should probably head back to my own room.”
“Probably,” Kenna agrees.
Diavolos raises an eyebrow and looks down. “I can’t head back to my room if you don’t let go of my shirt.”
“Oh. Right,” she says, releasing her grip on the black fabric.
Diavolos smirks as he leans in. “Until tomorrow, Your Majesty,” he murmurs.
She really does need to let him go back to his own room, and yet…
Kenna turns her face towards him as Diavolos leans back, touching her lips to his. His arms come around her immediately.
“Are we starting this all over again?” he asks her teasingly. “We could be here all night.” He brushes his mouth over hers.
“You have somewhere you need to be?”
Diavolos laughs as he kisses her. “Not in particular. Though I don’t know how it would look if I leave your room in the middle of the night.”
Kenna sighs, smiling briefly as their lips meet again. “It wouldn’t look good.”
She lets go of him reluctantly and he steps back.
“Are you actually letting me leave this time?”
“For now,” Kenna jokes.
“Hmm. I’ll see you later then,” Diavolos says.
“In the morning,” Kenna corrects him.
A cocky grin crosses his face as he reaches for the door handle. “I think I’ll see you later. Good night, Kenna.”
“Good night.”
He disappears, and Kenna lays back on her bed. It’s getting late and they have a strenuous day ahead of them tomorrow, but she tosses and turns, unable to sleep. Finally, she tugs her cloak on and climbs down the ladder that leads to her room, moving on near silent feet down the hall.
Diavolos smirks as he opens his door. “I told you I’d see you later,” he laughs quietly, ushering her in.