Since there is an upsetting lack of Michelle Zink fanfiction, I decided to make my own. Dimitri Markov's POV

The First Kiss

"Are you warm enough?" I pull the blankets tighter around Lia's shoulders.

'I'm fine, thank you. But you really should sleep. Someone in the group should be coherent, and I'm quite sure it will not be me."

I shift forward, letting my lips touch her ear very lightly. "I need less sleep than you might imagine. Besides, lately when I sleep, I only dream of you anyway." It is brave of me to say, I know this, but I can't bring myself to care. Lia is all I care about.

Lia laughs nervously. "Yes, well, let us see if you still feel that way after a couple of days without sleep and me to blame!"

I smile at the challenge. I lean around her to see her face. "Do you doubt my ability to stay awake alongside you? Why, that sounds like a challenge! And I accept!"

She laughs. It's a lovely sound. "Very well. It's a challenge, then."

I settle into place behind her. It's amazing how much I love having her in my arms, against my chest, snuggled into me. I press my face into her hair and take deep breaths of her natural scent.

We begin playing One Hundred Questions, and soon I know practically everything about her.

I press my face in her hair again.

"Whatever are you doing?" Lia laughs.

"Your hair smells lovely."

She hits my arm. "Ugh. It likely does not. A journey such as this does hamper one's efforts at hygiene."

I gather her hair to one side, revealing the smooth porcelain skin of her throat. Something in me catches on fire at the sight. "It does smell lovely. It smells of the forest, icy river water, you..." Without thinking, I lean down and kiss the side of her revealed neck.

Lia's head tips to the side, exposing her entire neck. My heart thunders. I am in the middle of worrying that it will pound right out of my chest when I feel her slender fingers twist into my hair. My breath catches.

She pushes my head closed to her neck, and the feel of her skin against my lips is electrifying. I moan. "Lia, Lia... This is not how I should be keeping you awake," I say the words unwillingly. She is sweet and pure and this is not something I should be doing with someone so flawlessly innocent.

She releases my hair suddenly, and whirls in my arms so she's facing me. She kneels between my legs. She cups my face in her hands. I can't breathe.

"This is not you keeping me awake." She leans down and her lips touch mine. My heart lurches forward, and I open my lips under hers, trying to deepen the kiss. She pulls back ever so slightly. "This is us, staying awake together. This is me," She stops to kiss me softly, "staying awake with you because I want to."

I can't stand it anymore. I exhale sharply and grab her waist, pulling her down on the ground so that her head is pillowed on the blanket. I kiss her fiercely, letting my hands run over the length of body. She was so soft and warm in my hands.

I kiss her hungrily for a moment, and then shift, trailing loving kisses down her neck. On my way back up, though the desire in me grew and grew, and when our lips met again, we were clinging to one another. Her hands were gripping my shirt, tugging it out of my breeches a little. I push her shirt up, running my hands over her flat stomach for a moment before I have to pull myself away and take deep breaths. I try not to think of the beautiful girl who is sitting beside me, a small smile on her lips.