“Well, your brother did refer to me as the prince of darkness,” I said dryly.
Skye sniffled again, tightening her arms around my back as she shifted her position. I froze as her nose brushed along my neck. Goosebumps erupted across my skin as she continued running her nose up my neck, then along my jaw before she pressed her face into my throat.
My cock was hopelessly hard in an instant, her skin brushing against mine all I needed to get going.
Let’s be honest. It took way less than that to get me going where Skye was concerned.
But Zephyr would fuckingkillme if I kissed his sister on their parents’ grave. For some reason, I really craved his approval. He’d given it to Aiden so freely, even giving him a nickname. Actually, he’d given me a nickname of sorts, too, but–
Skye’s tongue brushed along my neck, jolting me as if I’d been struck by lightning.
“Skye,” I cautioned, pulling back slightly.
She didn’t let go of me, desperately gripping me tighter instead.
“Why?” she asked. “Why not? Why last night and not now? Am I really…” She breathed out harshly before pushing away from me and jumping to her feet. She’d taken several steps away by the time I’d scrambled up after her.
My body was cold from where she’d left me. She crossed her arms, effectively blocking herself off from me. Her head was turned sharply to the side, her gaze looking anywhere but at me.
My mind raced back through everything I knew about her, everything Aiden had told me, and the thought hit me so hard I was nearly out of breath.
She thought I was rejecting her.
“Skye,” I started as I stood, but she shook her head.
“Just be honest with me. I can’t take this anymore.”
“Honest about what, darling? I’ll answer any question you have.”
Skye’s eyes darted toward mine before dropping to the ground.
“Why didn’t you come meet me when you found out who I was? Why were you just following me and then…why did…y-your dad–”
I growled, because nothing made me angrier than the knowledge that my fucking father had met and spoken to andtouchedmy Key before me.
Skye’s lip wobbled, and I was on her in a blink, moving through the shadows from the trees overhead to get to her quicker. I pulled her against me as she gasped, one of my hands going to the back of her head and the other to her lower back, effectively squishing her against me.
Although, she wasn’treallysquished. She actually fit against me quite well, maybe even perfectly. I could already foresee how well she’d fit when we were elsewhere, in a different position, doing–
“Rafe,” Skye whispered, and I snapped out of my dirty thoughts.
Right. Comforting. Not claiming.
“Darling,” I replied. “You think I don’t want you? You think I stayed away from you because I was disappointed in what I’d seen?”
Skye trembled against me. She was horrifically self-conscious over something, something related to this insecurity specifically, and I couldn’t understandwhy.
Was Wyatt really the reason for this? Had his rejection really done this much damage to her self-esteem?
I mentally doubled the amount of sucker punches I owed him.
“You’re perfect,” I whispered, right near her ear. “Perfect for Aiden, perfect for me. In different ways, of course, but perfect all the same.”
Skye relaxed slightly, though her shoulders were still rigid.
More praise?
“You’re beautiful,” I went on. “Devastatingly so. You’re intelligent. Observant.Kind.” Her shoulders relaxed even more, and I continued, running my hand up and down her spine slowly. “You’re so good to your friends. So loyal. And you’re so good to Aiden–”
