Page 25 of A Kiss From a Faerie King

“It’s nothing, really,” I say, trying to end this line of questioning.

“Tell me,” he commands.

“No,” I snap. His eyes flash and I have to look away. I’m not angry with him. Truth be told, I’m not even upset. The reminder of what I’ve always wanted—even in a place like this—seems still out of my reach. If my lust for Emrys turned into love, would his infatuation do the same? Or will I always be his pleasured prisoner? Something to be kept and not to be treated as the other part of his soul like I desire.

Why am I already considering loving a faerie king I barely know?

“Laurelle.” His voice is soft like spring rain. “Please tell me. Whatever it is, I will not find it foolish, I swear to you.”

Licking over my dry lips, I hesitate once more. Can I really do this? Trust him with this deep desire? My parents both drilled into me that it was a foolish want. That I should be ashamed for even wishing for such things when my purpose was to make connections—to gain power for my family. Is that why I am so afraid to tell him? To have my parent’s sentiments be echoed by his own?

Giving myself no chance to reconsider, I jump off the cliff and wait for the sea of my truth to swallow me whole.

“Love,” I whisper. “True love, the kind from legends and tales. That’s all I’ve ever wanted in life.”

I hold my breath and do my best not to avert his intense gaze. Something shifts in his dark eyes. They fill with a new light. His mouth parts, revealing some of his sharp teeth. He’s handsome—so handsome that it makes me ache anew. There’s danger written in every line of his face, yet his eyes show his true, gentle nature.

Seconds pass and then minutes. I wait for him to laugh at me—mock me as my parents have. I don’t expect him to slide his black-tipped hand across the table and cover mine. The silky warmth of his skin causes more fire to roar in my blood. Gently, he squeezes my hand as a small smile plays on his lips.

“Then I will earn you love, my blossom,” he declares. “It will be the sweetest thing I’ve ever claimed.”

Shock has me stumbling over my words.

“I—Emrys, that’s not entirely what I?—”

“If I prove myself worthy of your love, will you stay with me? Claim this as your home for all eternity? Will you give me the chance to earn your trust and safeguard your heart?”

My mind races. I had expected Emrys to say…anything else. For him to plead with me to earn my love…isn’t this exactly what I’ve always wanted? Sure, he may not be a shining knight coming to rescue me from a locked tower, but he is in a sense my savior.

By plucking his flower, I was saved from my cruel husband-to-be.

In return, I now have my own king, giving me pleasure and treating me with kindness. Do I not owe it to myself and to him to see if this can blossom into more?

Before I can answer, Emrys pushes back from the table. Rounding it in the blink of an eye, he falls to his knees beside me. Turning my chair, he clasps my hands in my lap. In this position, our faces are nearly the same height.

“I’ll give you everything, my blossom. Every want and whim of your heart, I will lay them all at your feet. Pleasures unknown to mortal kind, I will bestow on your beautiful body. All the freedom you can dream of will be granted to you, so long as you share my bed every night.”

I shiver at his words. My thighs clench together.

“Why would you do all that? If I am meant to serve you already as my punishment, surely there is no need to…earn my affection.” Why am I trying to fight this? Have I been so conditioned that my body’s response is to fight even when presented with what it desires most?

Glancing away, my face warms as I say, “After last night and this morning, you see how willing I am to share your bed already.”

Emrys growls, his hands tightening over mine.

“Lust and pleasure are one thing, Laurelle. Both of them are important things, but they are fleeting. Love—like the kind you dream of having—is for eternity. I have searched for it myself over the years and never thought I would find it. And then you fell into my realm, and I realized that I had been waiting for you all this time.”

Tears prick my eyes.

“Emrys—”

“I’ve had centuries to prepare for you. Experiences that make me certain of who and what you are to me. You have not had that luxury. Let me earn it—let me show you that I am worthy. Let me show you what could be yours if you choose to stay with me.” One clawed hand cups my cheek and forces my eyes on him. “As for your…service to me—the whispering from my meddling subjects—I will explain all of that to you in time.”

I nod my head, accepting his words, as I stare at the truth in his dark eyes.

“A noble king puts his realm’s needs before his own, but I will not put their needs above yours.” His words send a hot trick down my spine. “When I claim you in the way I have wished since the moment you dropped from the sky, it will be because you beg me to. You will commit yourself to me—bind yourself to me—and fulfill the prophecy of your own free will. And you will do it because I have earned it.”

“Prophecy?” I ask. The sister never mentioned anything like that.

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