The next two hours went by in a blur to Caspian. No matter what he and Iris did, whether they passed the time talking or kissing on the sofa, he enjoyed himself. Even among the few girls he’d dated in the past, he’d never connected with anyone the same way he did with her. He felt comfortable to be himself when they were together. There was no need to put on a show, flaunting good qualities or possessions to win her affection. Ever since the day they’d met, he’d been perfectly content baring exactly who he was to her without any fear of being judged—outside of her occasional playful comments, that was. He knew she never meant to offend or belittle him when she teased him thought. The banter was fun and, now that they had gotten more physical, it was often punctuated with a crash of his lips against hers or vice versa.

Even more than their conversations, he took pleasure in the interludes between topics during which they would kiss again. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to take things slow with her while her memories were still gone, but it was so hard to hold fast to the boundaries he’d wanted to set when everything she did lit him up like a fire. He was falling fast, and he knew it. The affection he felt for her was unlike anything he’d experienced for another person before. The closest thing he could compare it to was the fondness he felt for his parents, but even that wasn’t quite right, since that was a familial love. What he and Iris had was far more passionate, and it was strange to him how quickly the emotions had come on when they had only known each other for about a week. Although he’d never been one to believe in romantic concepts like soulmates, there was a part of him that was starting to second guess his convictions. How else could he explain why he felt so drawn to a woman he barely knew?

Caught up in the secret little world they’d built for themselves in her bedroom, the prince barely noticed when the soft alarm he’d set on his watch went off to remind them that it was time to go. Recovering from their most recent make out session, he sat with his cheek resting on top of her head, lulled by the feeling of her fingers tracing mindless patterns on the skin of his hand. The alarm went off for almost half a minute before he reluctantly opened his eyes and shifted to turn it off. [color=#b97703]“Damn,”[/color] he sighed, stretching his legs tiredly. [color=#b97703]“If we weren’t going out to look for your ID, I would have suggested that we call this whole thing off to stay here.”[/color]

Attempting to wake up a little more, he stood up from the sofa and pushed his arms over his head in another long stretch. Now that it was nine o’ clock, the guards would have migrated to the other side of the mansion, but he needed to be alert anyway, just in case anyone had stayed behind in the west wing. It would be harder to get out if they were seen, but it wasn’t impossible. Thinking about their upcoming getaway turned out to be useful too. As he imagined different scenarios in which he and Iris would have to run past the security guards, his heartbeat quickened, and he felt more awake right away.

[color=#b97703]“Right then,”[/color] he turned back to her with a grin. [color=#b97703]“Let’s go get your missing things.”[/color] With that, he strode over to the door and pulled it open as quietly as he could, poking his head into the hallway. He took a moment to make sure the coast was clear before he gestured for her to follow him and turned off the light switch on his way out of the room.