“Humans are awful,” she said through her sobs.
I ran the clawed tip of my finger along her jaw and tilted her gaze up to meet mine, needing to see those wide brown eyes. “Not all humans, Iris. Not all humans.”
Chapter5
Istared up into Selvyn’s molten eyes, my heart beating a wild rhythm as he used his thumbs to wipe away my tears.
When was the last time I’d reacted to someone like this?
With him bent over me, our faces were so close. His handsome face. And those full lips. It would take nothing to lean forward and press my mouth to his, to claim the cambion with a kiss.
But it was over before it began.
Selvyn cleared his throat before straightening as best as he could in the low tunnel. “Come. We have a lot of ground to cover.” He took a deep inhale, his nostrils flaring wide before he continued down the path, leaving me to follow behind him.
For a long time, we walked in silence. Me stewing over his rejection and Selvyn lost to his thoughts.
After a while, he started to hum that familiar tune.
That song.
I decided to put an end to the tension between us. “That song. When I was a girl, my mother would always hum that song.”
I could feel Selvyn staring at me, waiting for me to continue.
"My mother also died when I was quite young. She got very ill and passed, leaving me alone with my father." My throat constricted and tears threatened to well up with just the mention of my parents. But Selvyn had shared his story. In a way, I felt as though I owed him mine.
After taking a deep breath to center myself, I continued. "For most of my life, he ran a thriving mercantile business. We lived in a nice estate and he held influence over Grafberg's leadership. But all of that changed when my mother passed. I think the grief was too much for him. The only thing that seemed to bring him comfort was ale and gambling, and then one day I lost him too.”
Warm fingers slipped into my palm and a clawed thumb rubbed the back of my hand.
“I sold off what I could to pay my father’s debts, but eventually I lost the house and had to resort to…selling my body to keep myself fed.” I took another deep breath. “I did what I had to in order to survive.”
Selvyn came to an abrupt stop and a low growl crept out of his throat. “Don’t ever let that make you feel like you aren’t worthy, Iris. Or that you’re less than,” he snarled. “You’re something precious. Shame on the townsfolk for not seeing that.”
My lips parted in awe and warmth spread over my cheeks.
“How are your feet? Are you getting tired?” Selvyn asked as he pulled me close, the anger that he’d shown already replaced by a calm mask.
A dull throb resonated from the soles of my feet, one that seemed to worsen with each step we took down the tunnel.
“They’re a little uncomfortable,” I admitted. “I could probably use some rest.”
Before I knew what was happening, Selvyn hoisted me up into his muscular arms, his crouched body hovering over top of me.
“Selvyn, I can walk. Really,” I protested, wriggling in his grip.
“Nonsense. We’ll stop just around the bend. You rest.”
His chest rumbled with each word he spoke and warmth spread over my body from being pressed tight to his skin. I could feel his muscles flexing with each of his footfalls, and a different kind of warmth blazed through me, one that pooled low in my stomach and bloomed between my legs.
“Iris,” Selvyn chuckled. “Do you like being carried?”
Oh no.
Selvyn had sniffed the air earlier.
Could he smell my arousal?
