“I never want to be that person again,” I said, head lowered, focus fixed on where she was still touching me. “I could never allow evil to spread because I’m too afraid to do something about it myself. But I also won’t risk you. I can’t do it.”
“Hey,” she whispered, taking a single step back. “When I look at you, I do not see a man who sits idly by. Do you know what I see?” She moved her hand to my cheek, forcing me to look at her. “I see the most stubborn man I’ve ever met. I see a warrior who is so fucking good that he’s the envy of the entire army. How honorable. I mean, goddess above, Jessiah, you just might be the best man in all of Scarlata. And I’m not just saying that because we have this freaky bond connecting us now, okay? I really believe it.”
This forced a smile from me, breaking some of the tension that had flooded my chest. I knew I could be stubborn, but to begood?
How could one truly know they weregood?
How could a person know whether they really were above living life with a corrupt heart and dishonorable intentions?
“I know you,” Rummy said, reading my mind. “You might fear becoming the man your father once was, but that’s impossible, because you are too damn good.”
I wanted to believe her, but they were just words. Anyone would say those things. Damn, even Wolf had spewed that nonsense to me more than once.
But how could she really know? How could she look at me and tell me I was better than him? How could Wolf? Neither of them knew what my soul looked like. They didn’t know what lived inside me.
But it was hard to deny that Rummy looked at me like she saw. Like she wanted to see, anyway. Like she would appreciate every single part of me, the good and the bad parts.
And that’s what I thought of her, wasn’t it?
She feared that I would think of her differently if I’d known the truth about her death magic, but she was so damn wrong. I wanted her to show me the darkest parts of her.
And I wanted to love them all the same.
She brought her other hand to my face, too, her touch soft, and stepped closer until her body was flush against mine.
“I want to be a better man,” I said, searching her face. “For you.”
Her eyes glistened. “There is no better man for me, Jessiah. I’m already so deeply unworthy of a man like you.”
Words failed me. There was nothing I could say to show her how incredibly untrue that statement was, so instead of trying to explain, I kissed her.
And kissed her.
And kissed her.
This time was different. We were alone. We were home.
And we were no longer holding back. We were no longer pretending to be anyone but ourselves.
I had wanted this from the moment I first laid eyes on her.
Maybe she was just a fae from Midgrave, but she was my entire world.
The truth was that for years now, I had bickered with her, fought with her, argued over the stupidest things, all because I knew there would never be another woman for me.
Rummy had stolen my entire heart. Invaded my soul.
Watching her drown herself in her own misery hurt more than any pain I’d ever endured. Now, I could no longer sit on the sidelines and let it happen. I meant what I’d said to her back in those Whispering Caves.
I’ll have you.
I was willing to accept every damn part of her—the darkness, the fear, the shame.
She was perfect to me. She just had no fucking clue what I saw in her.
Eagerly, she kissed me back, melting under my touch as I ran my hands up her slim back.
I peeled her jacket off, desperate to get closer to her, and she did the same to me. Before I knew it, we were tearing our clothes off, layer by layer, the gentle kiss now something much hungrier.
