Discovering Clara

"So, you're really meaning to tell me that you haven't been staring at me all night?" I pressed as we walked through Goodnight's extensive gardens. Pierce moved slowly, I noticed, taking long strides as if he expected the rest of the world to kiss the ground he walked on. The entitlement is strong in this one, I thought.

"Pierce!" I insisted when he didn't answer.

Suddenly he swiveled toward me, his face just centimeters from mine.

"I prefer it when you call me sir, Clara," he whispered, then continued strolling without batting an eye, as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just stopped my heart altogether.

After a few minutes of stunned silence, I quietly insisted again, "I know you've been looking at me. I may be bad at getting signals, but I'm not that dumb..."

He inhaled deeply, then let out a thoughtful breath, "Yes, Clara. I have been looking at you." With that, he stopped walking, and slowly brought his face to mine again.

"In fact," he murmured, "Ever since I laid eyes on you, I've found it quite impossible to stop."

My body went numb. I opened my mouth to respond, but all that came out was a shaky breath. I found myself no longer caring if his effect on me was physically evident. He leaned in toward me, and I felt our lips brush.

"What do you want, Clara?"

You, I thought. I want you to touch me. I want you to take this dress off and feel my skin. I want your lips all over my body, exploring every inch of me. I want you to do whatever you want with me.

I closed my eyes, and murmured back, "I want you to kiss me."

... Nothing.

"Please?" I whispered against his mouth. "... Sir?" And with that, our lips collided. His were the softest I'd ever kissed- actually, they were only the second lips I'd ever kissed. But I knew that I would be lucky if I kissed someone like Pierce again.

"Come on, we'd better get back," he smirked as he pulled away. "I hear they're playing 'Pin the Veil on the Bride' next. We can't miss that." And with a wink, he was gone, his dark figure silhouetted by a thin ray of moonlight as he disappeared amongst the trees. I hesitantly followed as my hands touched my cheeks, feeling my burning skin, and realized that I would give up everything if it meant I could stay here, alone with him, for just a few more minutes.

"Okay, everyone," Aunt Carolyn announced, clapping her delicate hands together, "Lizzie here brought her nicest blindfold, and has been kind enough to allow us to borrow it!" The crowd applauded at this, and a small girl in a frilly dress curtsied, handing off the strip of silk. Pierce stood at my side; close enough that I could feel his heat radiating onto my bare skin, but not close enough to give the elderly rich women a new subject to gossip about.

"Who wants to go first?"

We watched guest after guest in futile attempts to pin the veil. After about 15 minutes of this, I decided to step forward.

"I'll try."

I could feel Pierce's eyes on me, watching my every move intently. My aunt smiled and tied the blindfold around my head, being gentle as to not ruin my hair. The veil was placed into my hand, and I began to feel around for the wall and the "bride". With a final chuckle to myself, I abandoned caution, and pinned it at random. Suddenly I heard applause, and pulled my blindfold up; it was on her head, perfectly placed! I felt my blindfold removed swiftly, and as I turned to face the pair of hands, I was startled to discover that it was none other than Pierce. His eyes burned intensely- what was that, pride? Lust? Over a party game? Nonetheless, he slipped it into his pocket elegantly, then took my hand and led me away.

"Hey, we need the blindfold back!" the girl whined, "My daddy got it for me in Paris! It's-"

"You'll get it back," he interrupted without looking back. He tilted his head toward me and winked.

Would now be a good time to tell him I'm a virgin?