Page 74 of When Wishes Bleed

“Why didn’t you eat dinner, or dessert?”

“How do you know I didn’t?”

He studied me for a long moment. “Because I watched you.”

“Why?”

“I can’t seem to stop, Sable.”

I swallowed thickly as he approached. I let the napkin fall from my hands, gripping the coarse strands of rope on either side of the swing.

He stepped around me and gave me a push, swinging me toward the pond, then stepped away, toward a sliding door that had been left open. I stopped myself and twisted the swing to look at him.

“I’m afraid,” I croaked.

“Of me?”

I shook my head. “For you.”

“Has Fate sent a message to you again?”

“Nothing specific, but there’s this unsettled, almost writhing feeling within me, and I don’t know what to make of it. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s not pleasant.”

He walked over to me as the swing’s ropes untwisted. He took my hand and waited while I stood. The flecks in his golden irises flickered in the moonlight. I brushed a dark strand of hair out of his eye.

“Today was busy. The coming week will be worse. I’ll get to spend time with you, but it’ll be while cameras are watching,” he said softly.

“You mean, while the Kingdom watches.”

Tauren nodded. “Sable, I need to propose to someone soon –”

I knew what he was going to tell me, but didn’t want to hear it. Not here. Not now.

I tugged my gloves off. Tauren’s eyes widened at the sight of my fingertips. “What is this?” He touched them, and a rush of warmth spread through my veins. I expected him to recoil, to curl his upper lip and back away. But I needed to touch him to perform this spell, and Fate’s answering warmth urged me to do it quickly. A violent magic churned in my bones. Fate was not only going to bless the spell, he would solidify it until it was unbreakable.

“I owe you a kiss,” I said, watching as his pupils dilated.

“Yes, I believe you do.”

“With interest.”

He smiled. “With interest.”

“Would you like to claim it now?”

Tauren didn’t hesitate. He brought his lips so close they brushed mine. “I’ve never wanted anything so desperately.”

Neither have I.

I took his hands in mine and held tight, then pushed my lips to his. I expected a tentative, exploratory kiss. What I received was an explosion of passion, want, and need.

One of Tauren’s hands found the small of my back and brought me forward until the front of me was plastered to the front of him. He threaded the other into my hair. The kiss was magnetic. He moved his lips over mine, waiting until I parted them. To complete a soul-binding spell was dangerous for both of us, but the witches were becoming bolder. They wanted Tauren dead, and if something happened that made it so I couldn’t be with him when they came…

And Fate… Fate was on my side.

I pushed the negative, invasive thoughts away and focused on the spell, letting it wrap around us while I enjoyed Tauren’s lips, the feel of his muscles flexing against me, and the silkiness of his hair. And then, when I could sense with every cell in my body that the magic was ready for the final ingredient, I leaned back and bit my lip until it stung, the coppery tang of blood seeping into my mouth. Then, while he was still dazed, I captured his bottom lip between my teeth and nipped. Tauren’s eyes popped open. Our blood mixed and the magic shimmered gold around us, the color of his eyes but brighter, too bright to look at for very long.

He withdrew, putting several feet between us, running his thumb over his injured lip. But the spell had been cast. He was protected now. “What was that?”

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