Page 80 of Lore of the Wicked Wood
Then Atlas kissed her and Everinne’s soul ignited. The world fell away in a wash of dizzying colors and muted sounds. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips, and she opened for him readily, gasping into his mouth as a magical thread thrumming with power stole around her heart, weaving an intricate yet intangible design. The bond snapped into place and she shuddered, throwing her arms around his neck as it sparked and hummed, as every part of him became every part of her.
Atlas was the beating of her heart.
The blood flowing through her veins.
The air in her lungs.
She’d fallen into the tempest of his existence.
Her pulse thudded wildly as he angled her head, deepening their kiss. It was a clash of teeth and tongue, of licking and tasting and longing. He thickened against her and she pushed her hips forward, not realizing how long she had craved this moment. It was as though she’d been walking through her life in a fog of frigid gloom. Always lost. Always alone. Suffering by the hands of her own magic, subjected to a place of darkness and despair. Where light could not reach, where there was nothing and no one. The pain of her own torment had ruled her, haunted her for years, forced her to live in a nightmare of her own making.
Until Atlas.
Until hermate.
“Tell me,” he said as he planted kisses along the column of her throat. “Tell me I’m not your mate. Lie to me, Wildheart.”
Everinne could tell the truth. She could steal this moment from fate, keep it harbored away and safely hidden, just as she’d done with her twisted magic. Except she hadn’t been able to keep it a secret. Kralv Oldrich had discovered it, he’d discovered the monster lurking beneath the exterior of her tortured soul. And he would find out about Atlas, too. He would learn about their bond and wield it against her like a weapon. His magic allowed him to sense someone’s greatest fear and use it against them, forcing them to bend and break beneath his will.
Loving Atlas Skye would be the biggest mistake of her life.
“I can’t be your mate.” She choked the words out. Shaking her head, she shoved away from him. “I…I reject the bond. I reject you.”
If looks could indeed kill, Atlas would’ve sent her to her grave. The raw agony, the absolutehurton his face was like nothing she had ever seen. His eyes darkened, and the newly formed bond between them strained, a convoluted hiss and snap as she tried to deny what could never be undone.
He stared at her, unmoving. “Liar.”
She swam toward the edge of the pool, clutching her heart as she went. The pain was unbearable, like she’d been run through with a poisoned blade. Hoisting herself up, she dragged her legs over the ledge and climbed out of the pool. Cold air assaulted her, and she wrapped her arms around herself and turned back, only to find Atlas swimming toward her. With her teeth chattering, she faced him, willing herself to hold his furious glare.
“I will be your wife in name only.” Everinne shivered, gripping her elbows with her hands as the cold beads of water slid down her skin, turning to droplets of ice.
He hauled himself out of the pool and she tried not to stare at the way his silky wet shirt clung to his broad shoulders, the way it molded to the solid wall of his chest and abdomen. And shedefinitely didn’t notice how his pants slung low across his hips as he stalked in her direction.
“Name only?” he growled, snagging her by the chin, his fingers bruising. “So, you have no intention of sharing my bed?”
Everinne clamped her mouth shut. She didn’t dare speak, fearful that if she tried, she would place them both in danger.
“And what if I told you my father anticipates an heir?” His thumb stroked the side of her cheek, and she willed herself not to lean into his touch. “That I’m expected to fill you with my seed until you’re swollen with child?”
That sounded exactly like some vicious command the kralv would set upon Atlas. But she could not allow herself to be swayed.
“Then I would say you should look elsewhere.” Her voice was quiet. Hollow and empty. Just like her.
Atlas barked out a cruel laugh, jerking back from her like he’d been stung. “Elsewhere? You think he’d appreciate me siring a bastard?”
Again, Everinne said nothing.
“And you…” He pointed an accusing finger in her direction. “You’re saying you’d be fine if I fucked someone else while I’m married to you?”
The bond revolted and her stomach heaved. The mere thought of Atlas finding another female to warm his bed made a wave of nausea flow through her, but she was determined to stand her ground. She was doing this to save him. To save both of them.
Everinne lifted her chin and swallowed down the rise of bile scalding the back of her throat. “I don’t care who you fuck as long as it’s not me.”
Atlas opened his mouth but she kept going, refusing to let him get a word in. If she wanted him to believe she was denying him and their bond, then she would have to make it hurt. “You’rethe prince of pleasure, Atlas. I wouldn’t expect you to be faithful to me.”
His nostrils flared.
His silence rattled in her ears, deafening, and she trembled beneath the fury in his gaze.
