Page 45 of Cursed Lifeline

Gripping his biceps, my hips slowly thrust towards his. He lets out a needy groan. Pulling back, he searches my eyes for a truth we both know I’m hiding. After a moment, he says, “I won’t take what you’re not ready to give. And since you can’t read my mind like I can read yours, before you get nervous that I don’t want this, let me assure you there is nothing I want more than to defile you right now in a purely selfish and indecent way.”

“But, I don’t want you to stop,” I pant, thinking of all the pleasure he brought me in my room and debating if I want to take things further.

He groans. Reading my thoughts, he says, “As much as I’m hungry for the flavor of your sweet essence coating my tongue, we both know my head coaxing the pleasure from between your thighs is not what you’re contemplating I take from you tonight.”

Blushing, I avert my stare, and Felix’s grip on my skirt loosens. When I refuse to look him in the eye, his right hand rises between us. It takes me a moment, but eventually, I focus on hisclenched fist. Biting my bottom lip, I look up and ask, “What is it?”

“I have a gift for you.”

Smiling, I say, “You already gave me a gift last week and the week before that. At this rate, you’ll be out of gift ideas before Christmas.”

The violets he gave me the first week he insisted on courting me have long since withered and died. With any hope, what he holds in his palm will last longer. Felix’s eyes roam my features as his left hand reaches behind my neck and twirls between his fingers the pink ribbon he gifted me last week.

“I could find an endless array of gifts to bestow on you and they’d never be enough to repay you for what you’ve given me.” His eyes find mine and he grins, “Lifetimes spent showering you with presents will never be enough because the hope you’ve given my heart is priceless.”

Opening his palm, a signet ring sits resting in his hand. Two ravens sit on the right and left side of an ornate crest. In the middle, a skull stares back at me. A shiver rushes up my spine as I take in its hollow eyes and sense it knows the day of my death.

When I don’t make a move to take it, Felix says, “I give this ring to you as a promise that I’ll search until the end of my days to find a way to honor and respect you the way you deserve before I ever taint your purity. Before I ever destroy your virtue, your chastity, your…”

I cut him off quickly and chuckle, “My virginity doesn’t have to be held in such high esteem.”

“Your maidenhood should andwillbe kept sacred,” Felix insists, grabbing my hand and slipping the ring on my finger. Staring deep into my eyes, he kisses the signet and pulls me closer.

“Besides,” he growls. “Wearing the ring also promises me you’ll remain chaste and give yourself only to me so I can do unholy things to you no other man or beast will ever get the chance to.”

Smirking, my lips rest against his, and I sass, “Is that so? And what unholy things did you have in mind, Monsieur Caldwell?”

Pushing my back up against the tree, the bark lightly pierces my spine once again. I let out a light gasp as Felix stares deep into my eyes.

“The vile ways I want to devastate every last pleasurable inch of your body should send me straight to hell, mon cheri. Good thing I’ve been to hell and back already. Corrupting your innocence won’t damn me, only you.”

“Me?” I ask, shocked. “How so?”

Leaning forward, intent on sealing his lewd promises with a kiss, Felix says, “Because you’ll enjoy your arousing downfall even more than I’ll take pleasure in ruining you.”

“Promise?” I ask breathlessly, just before his lips meet mine.

“No,” he says, and my heart stops. That is, until his lips smile against mine, and he whispers, “I vow it.”

“What do we have here?” a voice calls out just before Felix’s lips capture mine.

He backs away slowly and eyes me warily as my father steps out of the dark tree line and comes into view. He’s flanked by two of his closest friends, neither of which is Lord Laurent. Behind him, a small army of men creeps out of the shadows. Fear gets the better of me. Felix senses it and releases an angry growl. My eyes snap to his. Pinned between his broad, strong body and the oak tree, Felix captures my attention, softly touches my lips with his fingertips, and growls, “Mine.”

The sounds of footsteps echo closer.

“No one touches what’s mine and lives, understand?”

He grabs my waist, and his hand begins to shake. But it’s not with trepidation. He doesn’t tremble with panic or fear. No, he vibrates with the need for violence.

A war of emotions flash through his eyes. Before I have time to sift through the changes sharpening his gaze, he spins around and pins me protectively behind his back. Holding my hand tightly in his, he gives my palm a light squeeze for reassurance, though I’m far from hopeful that this night will end well now that my father has found us.

“My Lord,” Felix grins, “I thought you’d have more pressing matters to attend to tonight than strolling the grounds.”

“That fact is evident,” my father seethes as he steps closer. “Tell me, Felix, did you plan on ruining my daughter’s honor before or after you made her your midnight snack?”

My father’s gaze sharpens. Felix’s grip tightens around mine.

“In all fairness,” Felix fumes, “Your daughter is in more danger marrying the likes of your partner, Lord Laurent, than she will ever be in my presence.”

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