'Okay, Ren,' she told herself. 'This is it. The Disney Maneuver. True Love's Kiss breaks the spell. It works in every movie. It has a 100% success rate.'
She leaned in slowly, closing the distance. Kael didn't pull away. He just watched her with that unsettling, predatory stillness.
She pressed her lips to his.
It was a gentle kiss. Chaste. Sweet. The kind of kiss you give your grandmother on her birthday. She held it for three seconds—one, two, three—waiting for the magical sparkles, the swelling orchestral music, or at least a "poof" of fairy dust that signaled his sanity returning.
She pulled back.
Nothing. No sparkles. No music. Just a very large, half-naked tiger man staring at her.
Then, slowly, possibly deliberately, Kael's tongue swept out. He licked his bottom lip, tasting the ghost of her kiss. He did this while maintaining unbroken, intense eye contact.
Ren's face went nuclear red.
