“I don’t want you to feel sad, Tilly,” he said, slowly brushing his lips against my neck, lingering just over my pulse point as if he could sense my desire.
He sounded so honest. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to think I had control. But the persistent voice in the back of my mind whispered, “Do you? Or is he playing a trick on you?” Paranoia swirled through me like smoke.
“I’m mentally exhausted, Cillian,” I said
“I don’t know what to think or do anymore.”
He trailed his lips along my neck in a series of slow, sensual kisses. His fingers twirled through my hair, each touch against my skin jolting me. I didn’t know whether to run or give in. My mind was torn, but my heart was drowning in confusion. My walls were crumbling, my logic unravelling, and I hated myself for it. I hated him for it. But Gods, I needed to know one of the brothers didn’t want me dead after finding out Fionn’s intentions
He pulled me closer, his breath hot against my skin. “I don’t want you to feel sad, Tilly,” he murmured, his lips tracing a slow, searing path along my neck.
All thoughts and feelings seemed to disappear with his proximity. He pressed his lips against my ear.
“Everything is your choice, Tilly,” he whispered.
“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”
I realised I didn’t want him to stop. In fact, everything about him heightened my desire and drew me closer. How could my feelings betray me like this?
Or was this exactly what the curse wanted, my surrender.
Cillian turned me toward him, his eyes intensely locking on mine. He was igniting a passion within me that had always lain dormant and resisting him was impossible. My will evaporated like the morning mist, and I wanted nothing more than to be cocooned by the emotion overwhelming me.
Cillian gently cupped my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone.
“In my world,” he said, voice low with a quiet intensity. “You are as beautiful as the brightest star in the Elora sky. I would follow your light into the darkness. If you bind to me”
My pulse skipped a beat as his words mesmerized me drawing me in.
“And I, my love, “He whispered, leaning closer until our foreheads met. “I would burn heaven itself to protect you.”
His breath warmed my lips as he spoke. Then softly, achingly, his lips found mine.
The kiss wasn’t rushed or ravenous. It was slow, with a gentleness that was igniting me from within. His breath mingled with mine, sweet and warm.
His chest pressed closer to mine, and the thrill shot through me despite the danger. Why wasn’t I fighting this harder? I just overheard Fionn and Seraphina, their cold voices debating my death as if I were a pawn in their twisted game. What was I doing here, giving myself to him?
Then a voice rang out in my mind so strongly I almost leapt from Cillian’s arms. The urgent words of a woman resonated, filling me with a sense of dread.
“Stop being naive. You’re playing into his hands. This is how he lures us in”
The words rang too clear, too insistent to be my own faltering thoughts.
They frightened me enough to look above the pulse of my rising desire. A tendril of fear pricked my heart. I had to stop, but I couldn’t let my heart take control. I had to obey my instincts.
For a moment, Cillian’s expression was unreadable. Then his lips pressed into a thin line, disappointment flickering in his haunted eyes. But it wasn’t just disappointment, it was something darker. A shadow passed over his face, fleeting but unmistakable.
“I’m sorry if you think I’m making you feel this way. That’s the farthest thing from the truth.”
He pulled away and rose from the bed. His movements were deliberate, but the tension in his frame betrayed him.
“Your beauty is unbearable to me, Tilly.” His words sounded sweet, but they carried an edge.
“I wish you could look into my heart and know the truth. I'm truly lost in your presence.”
He sounded so genuine, so sincere. But wasn’t that the curse’s intention? To twist my desires, to cloud my judgment? If I gave in, would I even recognise myself when it was over? Would there even be a self-left to recognise?
“Tilly, know this. I will face the darkness for you… but Vareth will not spare those who refuse the bond.”
