MAV
She wants to be with me?My heart kicked hard against my ribs. It didn’t believe her either. My fingers twitched at my sides, aching to wipe the tears from her face, to pull her closer, to prove what my voice could barely carry.
“You don’t have to marry him,” I said, voice raw around the edges. “Say the word, and we’ll run.”
Quinn sniffed. “I do not want to spend our last two days together running.”
The words twisted something sharp in my chest. I wanted to argue, but the spell only broke if we were both in love and confessed it. Her naming the countdown confirmed to me that her feelings had not advanced as far as my own. After everything she’d been through, I refused to pressure her. My feelings were abundantly clear to me, and even if she didn’t return them, I was going to fight for the woman I loved.
“I’ll find a way to free you, Quinn,” I vowed. “Let’s leave this place. Tonight. We can warn the others and run.”
She bit her lip. “What about the king? The court?”
I shook my head, stepping closer. “I don’t care about any of that. I wantyou.”
Silence stretched.
She smiled—a sunrise I didn’t dare hope for. “You do?” she asked.
“Of course I do.”
The world held its breath, ceased to spin, as I waited for her to speak again.
“I will leave with you.”
I stared at her, stunned into a stupor. I never thought she’d agree.
“I will leave with you, Mav,” she repeated, firmer this time.
The words tore open the gate I’d been holding shut for too damn long. She smiled again, softer this time, and I realized I was smiling too. Shock tangled in my blood, wild and disbelieving.
She’s going with me.
“Oh—right,” I stammered, stumbling into motion. “Get your things. We’ll find a horse and get the seven hells out of here?—”
“Mav,” she interrupted, a hand catching my sleeve. “Everyone in the castle is likely still awake.”
“Right. We’d be stopped before we could make it to the castle entrance, let alone the city walls.” I frowned, pacing a short step back, adrenaline clawing for direction. “So, what, you want to sit around until more people are asleep?”
Her smile shifted—from soft to something that made my pulse thud at the base of my throat. “No.” She prowled toward me, gaze holding mine. “I want you all to myself while we wait.”
She launched at me. I caught her with a sound I didn’t recognize—half laugh, half groan. Her hands slid into my hair. My arms wrapped around her waist.
Her mouth crashed into mine. I kissed her like I’d been drowning for days and she was the first gasp of air. Her lips were frantic at first—trying to outrun everything she’d agreed to giveup. But then they slowed. Deepened. She kissed me like it meant something. Like I meant something to her.
The rest of the world blurred. The court, the king, the spell—gone. I no longer cared what my name was; I just wanted to hear it come out of her mouth. There was only her. Her body pressed to mine, her hands in my hair, her breath caught against my lips. I backed her against the cold stone wall, and she gave a soft cry of surprise. I knew in that instant that I had never wanted anyone, or anything, more than her. My fingers curled around the laces at her waist, trembling with need.
“Quinn,” I murmured against her throat, my voice rough. “If you want to stop?—”
“I do not wish to stop,” she said without hesitation. She pushed my jacket off my shoulders and down my arms in one sweep. “You are my choice,” she whispered. “This is my choice.”
We never made it to the bed. We barely made it to the next breath. Each gasp was its own exhalation of need. Stumbling to the chaise lounge, I lowered her gently, bracing myself over her.
Words failed me. I kissed her again, slower this time, savoring every feather-light graze of tongue and lip as though I could imprint my soul onto hers. I would give her everything I’d held back.
36
QUINN
