Page 86 of Secrets & Curses of Fate

“Yes,” I whispered. “I like you so much that it scares me. But I worry that if you do like me back, I will not know how to treat you well enough, and you will leave me. And I worry that you will stop liking me because I am poor. I do not have anything to offeryou, Della. I only have myself, and I have been told my entire life that I am not worth anything. The void said you will never feel that way about me, though.”

"He did?" Her eyes narrowed on me.

Fucking hell, now she is suspicious of me.He growled.

“I do not care that you are poor.” She had tears in her eyes as she stared at me. “And I know that you think I will at some point, but trust me when I tell you I won’t. I have everything—money, power, and anything I could ever desire. But I do not have the one thing I have wanted more than anything. You.”

I looked at her, unsure of what to say.

“Is there a reason why it feels like we have known each other for a long time?” I asked.

“Maybe it was written in the stars, and if it was, then I thank the heavens every day that they gave me you. I mean it, Haden. There has never been anyone before you, and there will be no one after. Your soul calls to me, and I cannot stay away. We can go as slow—”

I leaned forward and kissed her. Della hummed against me. I pulled away, and her eyes flashed white, looking at me in surprise before falling back to my mouth. She suddenly moved forward and kissed me again. My hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they reached out and pulled her forward. Della straddled my lap as she deepened the kiss. Gods, she could fucking kiss.

After a minute, she pulled back and smiled at me. She gave me one last lingering kiss before hugging me to her. This felt right. I don’t know why she felt like home, but I never wanted it to end. I inhaled her intoxicating scent and held her tightly.

“I’m so glad you like me back,” she whispered.

I chuckled softly.

“You didn’t come to see me today.”

She pulled back and traced her fingers over my cheek.

“I was about to come when you started calling for me.” She looked in my eyes. “I don’t think I can stay away for a whole day.”

“Good,” I said.

“Can I take you somewhere tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“I’m exhausted; I need to get some sleep.”

She gave me a hard, lingering kiss before sliding off of me. Gods, I wanted her to get her ass back over here. She grabbed her heels off the floor, and I felt panicked about her leaving me.

“Wait,” I called out. She stopped and looked at me. “Stay with me for a little bit longer. I know you're tired; you can lie with me.”

“Haden, are you asking me to stay the night?” She smirked.

My face instantly turned red, and she dropped her shoes.

“I was teasing.” She looked around and smiled as she picked up my tunic I had tossed off. She turned around and slipped off her dress. I turned quickly, but not before I saw her pretty bronze skin covered in glowing silver tattoos. She chuckled as she crawled into bed, now wearing only my tunic.

I shifted so I was lying on my back, and Della snuggled right up to me, resting her head on my arm. Gods, she was so natural about this, like we had done this a million times before. Her hand rested on my chest, and I felt a warmth spreading through me. Gods, I really fucking liked this.

“Storm?”

She didn’t answer, and I peered down to see her already passed out. So, I wrapped my arm around her and closed my eyes, excited that tomorrow she was spending the day with me.

?????????

“What is this place?” I asked as the small waterfall fell into a large pond.

“This is our new favorite place.” She smiled like she had a secret. She glanced around and laid out the blanket she brought with us.

I admired the beauty of the scenery, not having seen anything quite like it before. The thousands of wildflowers surrounding us as the waterfall created mist in the air that made rainbows seemed magical. But it was Della’s big, excited smile that was my favorite thing to see. A willow tree stood by itself off to the left, and something about it made me walk toward it.

---