I was a master of my lust for many years. I know what it means to want someone and want Arden, I do, but there's more. I don't just want to possess her body, as pleasurable as that would be. I want to keep her with me. To peel back her layers and study each delicious part of her until I know her better than anyone.
Mine. Mine.Mine.
"How do I look at you?" she breathes.
My thumb rubs over the pillowy softness of her lower lip. A soft moan falls from her mouth. My cock hardens painfully in my trousers, seeking her warmth to sink into.
Arden's eyelids turn heavy as my lips pull up on the side.
"Like you never want to stop."
12
FINN
Like you never want to stop.
I should've kissed her. Her full lips had parted on a sweet breath. It would've taken nothing to greet her softness with my mouth and finally taste her. I was no doubt going to die in these wretched lands.
Despite my unwavering belief in my ability, I wasn't that big of a fool.
The only way to defeat the Void would be to use the magic I swore to never touch. The Deadlands would force my beast from its shackles. I’d shred the very fabric of my soul if that’s what it took to break my curse.
To protect Arden and her realm from the darkness.
What would be left of me once he was set free? I could only pray that a fairy wish would be powerful enough to reset me in the aftermath.
Was it so wrong that I wanted to savor a piece of Arden before she realized a monster lurked at her side?
Despite my assurances to her, I was a coward. I hadn't kissed her. I’m fairly certain another perfect opportunity wouldn’t present itself before I was devoured by a puddle of boiling goo.
I watch her straighten herself as if remembering the very dangerous mission she's set us on. The glossy sheen to her eyes banks slightly. Licking her lips, she glances at my mouth one final time before falling back a step.
If I had kissed her, would she have welcomed it?
Her body says one thing while her words say another. I believe that she is physically attracted to me, but could that just be because I am different? We barely know each other, and yet I feel as if no one has ever known me better.
Arden sees me. I think that's what unsettles me the most about her. Those verdant eyes stare deep into my soul, pushing through the carefully constructed layers of the confident man I've hewn myself into becoming. The Queen sees the darkness in me, the parts I'd rather keep hidden.
Would she let a cursed man kiss her? Can she even accept my kiss? Fairy customs are foreign to me.
A new thought sparks, and my beast snarls.
"You've told me of your betrothal, but what of Elwood?"
Her sharp teeth sink into her lower lip.
"For a man determined not to let Elwood follow him, he is your preferred topic of conversation."
"I just want to make sure, Queenie."
"Make sure of what?"
"That the two of you never…"
I let the question hang in the air. Arden's brows pull low before they shoot towards her hairline. The skin under her eyes darkens as she looks away, suddenly very interested in the rotting leaves beneath her toes.
"I told you, it's not like that between us. It never has been. He made a few offers of marriage long ago, but I refused."
