Page 154 of Her Dark Promise

The movements had the walls gripping him even tighter to me, the sensations overwhelming.

He sat down with me, still straddling him, and wiped away the tears as he waited silently for me to decide if I wanted to share whatever was going on in my head. I broke down, wrapped my arms around his neck, and cried.

I held onto him tightly as the fear of them dying one day, leaving me to be alone once again, started to take hold. Before the panic could set in, Soren began to hum the song that he used to calm me during that night in the library.

I never wanted to let them go. I felt like I was starting to feel like myself again—my old self.

My breathing calmed, and I said teasingly into his neck, “You know…usually after fucking, the man pulls out of the woman.”

My body moved with his chuckle. “Why would I when this is my new favorite place to be?”

I leaned back so that we were looking at each other.

“Thank you,” He whispered.

Our breaths were intermingled. He had such an alluring scent. It was one I could get drunk on for the rest of my existence.

I laughed lightly at him, moved the hair away from his face, and asked, “Whatever for?”

“For not dying. For choosing us.”

I stopped laughing at that, and I stared at him. “Sometimes I think you were made for me…the old me.”

He stared, considering the words deeply.

“That girl, that princess, needed someone like you to tell her the world was vast. That she could escape it all if she were brave enough, that life wouldn’t end if her family didn’t accept her.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

“I’ve been afraid of you,” I admitted. “Afraid of what I’d feel if I let you in.”

“I know,” he said. “I can read you just about as well as I can read my brother.”

I looked down, my instincts still trying to get me to flee from how overwhelmed I was. He took me by the chin, making me level my eyes with his.

“You are still that girl, afraid of not being accepted. But you have been accepted, and when I break your curse, you will see that the world is still vast. You will get every experience you lost.”

The life he painted for me was almost cruel. It had been so long since I’d considered life beyond my curse—traveling, seeing theworld. The longing filled my stomach. “And if you can’t break it?”

He grinned. “I am persistent.”

We both shared a laugh.

“I love you,” he whispered, staring into my eyes, ensuring I knew he meant what he said.

He smiled at me, knowing full well I wouldn’t say it back, but said it anyway. I wanted to tell him how I truly felt, but I couldn’t. All I could do was kiss him. It was a kiss that had me screaming for air, but it didn’t matter. I ran my fingers through his hair, pulling him even tighter to me.

He finally pulled back, and I chased his lips with mine, fully prepared to die by suffocation. He gave me a hearty laugh from deep in his chest and my insides lit up at the sound.

“You look like an angel.” My hair was wild, skin flushed. My whole body was exposed to him.

“I can promise you that I am no angel.”

He gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. A smile that told me that he was up to something. “No? The Devil herself, then? Do us both a favor a fuck me like one of your whores, Rose.”

I perked up at his words. I loved to see this new side of him. “Scholar, aren’t you tired after your first time?”

He leaned back and said, “No, I don’t think I will ever tire of you.”

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