Sneak Peek Wednesday: Unleashed by Bella Jacobs

Kite’s breath rushes out, his shoulders sagging with a relief that makes me feel like I’ve done something more important than answer a question. “Good. Keep trusting me, bird girl, and I’m going to show you a whole new world. A world where you can be the powerhouse you are on the inside.”The backs of my eyes begin to sting, but I’m smiling when I say, “There’s no cure, Kite. I might never go back into remission, let alone get better.”

He pauses, seeming to debate something silently before he whispers, “But then again, you might.” Before I can assure him that hope is a lost cause in this case, he leans down and gently presses his lips to mine and I am the one who’s lost.

My eyes slide closed as my heart lights up, each warm, sweet brush of his lips against mine making my body fill with magic. Electricity floods my nerve endings and my pulse races so fast I know I would fall over if Kite let me go. But he doesn’t let me go, he wraps me up in his big strong arms, hugging me close as he lifts me off my feet, bringing our lips onto a level playing field as he takes charge of holding us both steady.

With a soft sob of gratitude for this kiss, this miracle, this moment of feeling like the luckiest girl in Seattle, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him with everything in me, not caring if I use up all the energy I’ll need to get home.

I’m always so careful—I’ve had to be in order to keep working and having some semblance of a normal life long after most people with my condition would have taken to their beds for good—but I don’t want to be careful right now. I want to be alive and wanted and on fire. I want to burn with this man who makes me hungry in a way

I’ve never experienced before.

In just a few moments, Kite banishes every teenage kiss and lukewarm make-out session from my early twenties from my memory, leaving nothing but his smoky, sexy taste in my mouth and his campfire and almond scent swirling through my head.