Page 168 of Damsel in Disguise

Color rushes into my cheeks. The worst part? He’s right.

“Now c’mon,” I attempt to pry myself free again.

It doesn’t work. Not even a little. So I glare up at him.

His smile only widens. “You look better feigning anger. Just like a kitty cat. My little kitty,” and there they are—those stupid dimples.

The sight of them as he emphasized ‘my’ strikes me with an almost embarrassing force.

If someone asked me to pinpoint the exact moment they fell in love, I think I’d choose this one for myself.

Not even the first time I saw his pictures in the worst circumstances—the prank.

Not the years spent watching him from a distance.

Not the countless lectures online.

Not our first meeting or working as his student assistant in secrecy.

This. Right here.

The way his eyes crease.

The way those dimples appear without warning.

The way he somehow looks younger despite carrying enough darkness inside him to eclipse entire cities.

I know this feeling. I know it with terrifying certainty.

The realization settles heavily inside my chest, making every heartbeat feel louder than the music surrounding us.

I love him.

Despite the monster he is. Maybe because of it.

49. DUALITY

ariella

His grip eventually loosens and slips away from my body completely.

I immediately miss the feeling of being anchored to him.

Alistair takes a step back. Then another.

Then he does something so unexpected that my brain short-circuits—he bows before me.

One hand tucked behind his back while the other extends forward, palm open in invitation. “May I have the honor?”

I can’t contain the smile breaking onto my face as I place my hand in his.

The look in his eyes softens for a fraction of a second before it darkens with such intensity that it makes my pulse skip. It lasts less than the duration of a blink, which I almost mistook for a fragment of my imagination.

He lifts my hand toward his lips and presses a lingering kiss against my knuckles. A gesture straight out of another century. Another lifetime.

His gaze never leaves mine while he straightens and gently draws me toward him.

His hand settles at my waist. Mine finds his shoulder.