Fallen (Fallen, #1)

by Lauren Kate

As soon as her lips melted into his, both of them were powerless. The honeysuckle taste of her mouth made him dizzy. The closer she pressed against him, the more his stomach churned with the thrill and the agony of it all. Her tongue traced his, and the fire between them burned brighter, hotter, more powerful with every new touch, every new exploration. Yet none of it was new.

She noticed nothing, was aware of nothing, understood nothing besides their kiss.

Call immediately! Will be waiting by the phone all nite so be ready to dish. And remember the mantra I assigned you. You’ll survive! BTW, for what it’s worth, I think everyone’s totally forgotten about …

Kiddo, we are always thinking of you. Be good and try to eat enough protein. We’ll talk when we can. Love, M&D

style must be modest and color must be black. Some freedom.

“Wait, there are only eighty kids in this whole school?”

“Yep. This used to be a military academy, way back in the Civil War days. So that’s where they buried all their dead. It’s creepy as all get-out. And lawd,”

Boys like Trevor.

She’d been at this school for what, forty-five minutes?—and her mind was already juggling two different guys.

Already looking for the exit? Not a good sign. We’re in this hellhole until lunch.

The whole school had already started calling her Meat Loaf.

He’s always been such a hard worker.

Penn wore six sweaters in the swampy southern September heat—she was never hot.

Even after all the laughs and smiles and that one potential near kiss she’d just shared with Cam, she couldn’t shut out what she felt when she saw Daniel.

“Oh, jeez, please kill that metaphor,” Penn whispered. “Or kill me. One or the other.”

The way the water shimmered in the sunlight, it almost looked like he had wings.

Luce … Lucifer … any relation?

I take it you’re not daydreaming about Satan. Where’d you and DG scurry off to Saturday afternoon?

Tell me he didn’t give you that lame “I’ve been burned before” bit.

He kissed her as if she belonged to him, as naturally as if she were some long-lost part of him that he could at last reclaim.

parents seemed almost eager to leave her. They had a way of not really wanting to deal with the realities of having a reform school daughter. They were so normal. She couldn’t really blame them.

Cam was so much clearer, easier to figure out. Like he was algebra and Daniel was calculus.

he wasn’t Daniel.

“If you come to a place more than once with the same person,” Daniel said, almost to himself, “I guess it isn’t yours alone anymore.”

She’d been wandering through a dusty fog, someone holding her hand. She’d turned, thinking it would be Daniel. But while the lips she pressed against were comforting and tender, they weren’t his. They were Cam’s.

“I said keep your filthy hands off her, you evil piece of shit.”

it was Daniel she cared about, not Cam.

“I don’t think you’re stupid.” He closed his eyes. “I think you’re the smartest person I know. And the kindest. And”—he swallowed, opening his eyes to look directly at her—“the most beautiful.”

This was the Daniel she … loved.

The softest, featherlight touch of their lips was all that connected them, but a fire Luce had never felt before coursed through her, and she knew she needed more of—all of—Daniel. It would be too much to ask of him to need her the same way, to fold her in his arms like he’d done so many times in her dreams, to return her wishful kiss with one more powerful. But he did.

The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment.

“I do all of these things,” Daniel said, leaning into her so that their foreheads touched, “because you’re my love, Lucinda. For me, you’re all there is.”

“The good news is”—he paused, carefully choosing his words—“I kissed you, and you’re still here.”

chin. “But they’re just showing off right now. We still have time.”

“Trust is a careless pursuit at best. At worst, it’s a good way to get yourself killed.”

“When you die tonight—you die.

Fight for the only thing she knew that was good enough, noble enough, powerful enough to be worth risking everything. Love.