Forbidden Craving(96)

"They wanted me to be something I wasn't," she said.

"What?"

"Sweet."

He snorted. "You are sweet. You like to pretend otherwise, but you are most definitely the sweetest morsel I've ever sampled."

Shaye bit him on the shoulder and licked away the sting. "I think you see into my soul-the one you're feeding whether you realize it or not. I think you see the woman I've always secretly wanted to be. Something my own mother hadn't been able to do."

"How can your family not see how sweet you are? Well, it's their shame, not yours."

She raised her head and cupped his cheeks with her palms. "Thank you for that."




 

 

Valerian's chest tightened. This woman possessed his heart, and he wanted hers. He would fight for it. The greatest battle of his life. "Have you been able to make your anti-cards here?"

"Yes."

"If you were to make one for me right now, what would it say?"

"Well...let's see." She rested her head on his shoulder. A minute ticked by, then another. "Are you sure you want to know?"

Yes. No. "Yes."

"If I were going to make and send you a card, it would say..." She paused, frowning as she drummed her fingers against his chest. "I'm trusting you not to break my heart. If it gets even a little scratch, I'll break your face."

His lips twitched. "Break my face?"

"That's right. You heard me."

Break his face if he broke her heart... Her heart. Valerian stilled, the significance of what she'd said finally registering. Even his blood ceased flowing and breath froze in his lungs. A wave of dizziness hit him as one emotion after another crashed through him.

"You are trusting me with your heart?" He was almost afraid to ask, and prayed he hadn't misunderstood.

He, a warrior who had laughed at danger his entire life, was afraid this tiny, pale woman wouldn't love him the way he loved her.

"Kind of," she said. "I'm giving you a piece of it. Just a little piece. I mean, I'm not saying I'm head over heels in love with you or anything like that. You're the only one who's fallen into the deep end. Okay?" A layer of panic coated her words. "But I'm trusting you not to be with anyone else while we're together. In case I wasn't clear, that means no other women."

"Moon, I desire no other save you."

"Now you don't. But what about later, when the novelty of me wears off?"

As she spoke, he heard her vulnerability, and it unmanned him. He rolled her to her back to stare down at her. "You are my mate. I've told you that, but I don't think you understand what it means. None arouse me anymore but you. None tempt me. None appeal to me. Only you. When a nymph takes a mate, that's the way of it. Always. For the rest of his existence."

Her gaze softened, and he knew she wanted to believe him. "Yeah, well," she said, putting on a brave face. "We'll see what happens in the coming days." 

"So you want to stay with me?"

Radiating vulnerability, she whispered, "Yes."

Joy burst through him, full but not complete. Not yet. "You want to stay with me, but you don't want to love me?"

"Right. Love is complicated and messy."

"Is it? I love the way your nipples are pushing into my chest. That isn't complicated."

Her lips pursed. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Loving someone gives them permission to do bad things to you because they know you'll forgive them."

A pinprick of anger. "What kind of bad things have been done to you by those you loved?" The question emerged quietly, lethally.

He would slay anyone, man or woman, who had dared hurt this woman.

"I've been abandoned, rejected, dismissed and forgotten," she said, and he tensed. "Plus, I saw the way you pushed aside the women who came before me."

"I didn't expect you, Moon. You were a surprise. I cannot undo what I've done in the past. But you have my vow of honor that I'll never tire of you. In time, you'll realize this for yourself." He paused, intent. "I know you said you would stay, but I'd like your vow. Promise me you will give me time to prove myself and my intentions toward you."

Her eyes searched his face, probing. Whatever she saw in his expression must have comforted her because she gave him a slow smile and nodded. "You have my vow."

He breathed a sigh of relief, his joy renewed.

Then she added, "If we're going to do this-"

"We are."

"You can't watch me sleep." She shuddered.

"Why? You're beautiful when you sleep. Or so I assume," he hastily added.

She rolled her eyes. "You've already done it, haven't you?"