Page 176 of Taken By the Fae

Dread digs an even deeper hole in my chest. “I wish there was more I could do for him. I’m not even fae anymore.”

“I think you do more for him than you realize, just as you are.” She smiles softly. “But on that note, you haven’t said much about being human again.”

I shrug, lifting the glass to my lips and take a drink. “There’s not much to say. We both know I wasn’t all that great at being fae, and I don’twantto become one again, but I can’t help being angry. I feel… robbed. I’m not sure how else to describe it.”

“Of course. You’re entitled to feel anything you are. I’m just worried you’re letting it hurt you.”

I catch my bottom lip between my teeth, thinking about that. “You’re right. I shouldn’t let it consume me. I need to find a way to make peace with what happened. This is my life. I refuse to allowthemto have any more control over it.”

“Good,” she says, lifting her glass to me. “Cheers to that.”

I offer a smile as I clink my glass against hers and take a sip.

“Mind if I interrupt?” Tristan’s voice makes my head turn, and when our eyes meet, my heart jumps.

Allison sighs dramatically. “I suppose.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes hard before heading inside, sliding the door shut.

I set my glass on the ledge, turning to face Tristan. “Hey,” I murmur.

“Hey,” he echoes back, the corner of his mouth curling. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, you know, living the dream.”

The smile slips off his face. “Rory.”

“I’m okay, Tris. It’s a lot, that’s all. I was just starting to adjust to being fae and then it was taken away from me. Now I need time to readjust to life as a human.”

“I want to help.”

I reach for him, draping my arms over his shoulders. “You’re helping by being here.”

He grips my waist, and my skin warms under his touch. “You are the most amazing creature I have ever met,” he whispers, dipping his face to seal his lips over mine.

My eyes flutter shut as I lean into him, moving my lips with his. His fingers tighten on my hips, and blood rushes to my cheeks as I deepen the kiss, sliding my tongue into his mouth. My fingers tug at the back of his hair, and he groans, pressing his lower half into me. I gasp against his lips, and he chuckles against mine. My heart pounds against my rib cage as I fight to pull him closer, kissing him harder.

Slipping into this feeling of getting lost in each other’s touch, I can’t imagine living without it now that I’ve experienced it. I never want this feeling to end—I’ll hold on to it with everything I have for as long as I have on this earth.

He’ll have longer, a voice inside my head says, effectively ruining the moment.

I move away from Tristan, pulling my hands back and clenching them at my sides.

“What just happened?” he asks, his cheeks flushed and his hair messed up, courtesy of me.

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “We should go inside. I’m not sure I trust Nikolai in your kitchen.”

Tristan smirks. “As much as I agree, we aren’t moving until you tell me what’s going on in that beautiful head of yours.”

“It’s stupid,” I mumble.

“Rory.” He closes the distance between us again and takes my face in his hands. “Talk to me.”

I press my lips together. “When we were kissing, I was thinking about how I never wanted it to end. That I wanted to feel that way forever.”

Realization fills his eyes, and he nods in understanding. “We can talk about it.”

I sigh. “I don’t want to talk about it. Not tonight.”

Tristan presses his lips to mine in a whisper of a kiss and concedes, “Not tonight.”

---