Page 139 of A Tongue so Sweet and Deadly

Loche gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll have our best healer tend to him. She can even move into your room while we’re gone. Although something tells me Merrick would be quite opposed to that. And Zaddock can check on your friends. He’d be happy for it. I think he might have developed a small obsession with the blonde. As for your duties—it’s only a few days, Lessia.”

Amalise’s words echoed in her mind.

You deserve love.

Promise me if there is a chance you find it, you will.

She’d made that promise.

And while she wasn’t sure if this was love, she’d never before felt the warm feeling coursing through her veins as she met Loche’s eyes.

Hadn’t ever had her heart skip a beat like it did when Loche smirked at her.

But chilling guilt mingled with the warmth, and she winced as the memories from earlier flooded her mind.

If she went with him…

If she was this selfish…

Eyes narrowing, Loche leaned forward. “I’ve learned the hard way not to feel guilty over doing something selfish once in a while. It gets lonely at the top, Lessia. And I have a feeling you’ve been lonely for a long time.”

She rubbed her neck, suddenly very aware of how close they were. How strong Loche’s legs were beneath her. How hard the chest she rested against was. How soft the skin at the base of his neck was.

Goose bumps raced across her skin when he grinned at her, pulling her other arm around his neck and leaning hisforehead against hers.

“I’m not the begging type, Lessia. But if you need me to, I’ll get on my knees. I’m already risking everything. I don’t mind throwing my pride into the ring as well.”

Despite everything, a giggle bubbled up her throat, and Loche’s mouth twitched.

“You think that’s funny, darling?”

Raising a brow, she grinned at him, grateful that some of the tension in the room eased. “You just surprise me, is all.”

Loche winked at her. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do. Besides, I can think of some very good reasons to get on my knees before you. And I promise you won’t be laughing then.”

She thought her face might melt off, and Loche chuckled softly. “There’s that blush again.”

His eyes wandered over her face, and he shook his head. “You’re so beautiful.”

Shaking her head back, Lessia shifted, creating some distance between them. “I’m Fae. We’re all beautiful.”

Loche moved his hands from her face to wrap them around her waist, pulling her to him and erasing the space again, and his eyes bore into hers. “You’re Lessia. And you’re the most interesting woman I’ve ever had the honor to meet. You’re beautiful, and kind, and caring, and intelligent. And somehow, you seem to have an inkling of interest in me. I am not known to let opportunities pass me by, and I won’t do it with you. If I am lucky enough that the feelings I sense from you are true, I will always cherish them. I’ll do anything to keep them, fuel them, make them burn bright even in the darkest of winter.”

A lump formed in her throat as a small piece of the walls she’d built around her heart shattered, each pulse echoing in her ears.

She hadn’t known how much she needed to hear those words.

That he saw her for Lessia.

Not half-Fae or half-human.

Just…

Lessia.

His eyes flitted between hers, something soft settling in his gaze. “How about you speak to Merrick to see what he thinks of you going away?”

A sigh escaped her as she burrowed her face into his neck, drawing deep breaths of his minty smell.

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