Her heart quickened as he requested a kiss. Gabrielle had assumed that, like all men, Guilian would eventually break and make some foolish choice. He would kiss her and then beg to take her home and continue to embarrass himself in a flurry of Veela-ispired stupidity.
...Guilian Montague appeared different, though. He had moved slowly through the evening, and seemed to have genuine connections to Gabrielle and her trials. She felt they understood each other, at least more than resulted from the average male encounter with her, and she wanted to believe she had found something. Nothing pleased Gabrielle more than to make others happy, and something about Guiliano was brightening by the minute. It had been her doing, and now he was asking her to make it truly real for him. It was not said aloud, but Gabrielle wanted proof too. More than anything, she wanted proof that she could be cherished for more than her Veela beauty (as fun as it could be), and so...
Her heavy black lashes closed over her eyes like folding butterfly wings, and she tilted herself upward to breathe his air. Hesitating for only a moment to smile against his lips, she let her mouth gently meet his, kissing Guilian with a delicacy that matched the glow constantly surrounding her.