Page 67 of Fallen Princess: Shadow Stalker

His harsh verbal reaction almost shocks me because his grip on my chin is so tender.

“You fled, darling, because you were too scared to face the truth about yourself,” he adds, his gaze unwavering. “You were in love with four boys, Eden. But we’re men now, and those feelings are clouded with a cloak of weakness and lust because it’s the only thing you have left to protect yourself. You reek of denial.”

His fingers are still locked on my chin, and I dare not move as his words swirl in my mind with realization.

“You’re aware of how we feel about you. You see beyond the lust and desire. You saw it from the moment you stepped into your home and saw us for the first time in a decade. The four of us crave you because none of us ever stopped being in love with you. I see the same craving in you. The need to be with us scares you to the point that you want to run away.

“For some fucking odd reason, fate wants four men to love you and you to love them with the same intensity back. I will forever break your heart, and you mine, because that’s the risk of falling in love. We’re toxic together but lethal apart. We’ll write all about it in our music, and it’ll weave our hearts together again until we break each other once more and stitch each other back together. You can’t run from me, princess. Because this time, I’m not that scared teenager afraid to act on their deepest, darkest desires. I’m willing to put myself out there. I’ll give you my soul so I can possess yours.”

I remain silently still, unsure if I’m caught in the enchantment of his gaze or the intensity of it. But I know my eyes are wide in astonishment as I swallow the rock lodged in my throat as the truth sinks in.

The air between us crackles with tension as the reality of Haze’s feelings unfolds, leaving me both intrigued and slightly unsettled. As his declaration hangs in the air, the atmosphere quickly shifts to a silent battlefield of emotions that erupts within me.

This is an unexpected turn, where desire and realization have collided in a silent, charged crescendo.

“I…” words fail me.

What the fuck is my next move? What doIwant?

I saidI.

“I have to…”

Dosomething. I must do something.

What?

He lets go of my face. I hadn’t even realized he had held on to it for so long, and I think he’s just discovered it, too. Tilting his body, he makes room in the doorframe. Enough for me to pass.

You can’t run from me, princess.

His words run once more through my mind.

Deepest, darkest desires.

His deepest, darkest desires are a labyrinth for me to lose my sanity in.

I’ll give you my soul so I can possess yours.

A moment of clarity dawns upon me, bringing an unexpected shock.

RUN, Eden!

My subconscious screams at me as his words resonate in the caverns of my mind. This will lead to nothing but chaos, and my heart is aching because it knows the truth.

I stare at the open space he’s left me. A chance at freedom.

Images of warnings, snippets of forgotten wisdom, and the ghostly specters of past experiences of the pain I suffered flash before my eyes, a montage of my inner turmoil. My subconscious

is my guardian spirit, and it persists in its attempt to guide me away from the precipice of regret.

I’m not allowed to fall in love again. I’m corrupted. If he ever learns the truth, he’ll run miles.

Moving a step forward, I’m determined with every intention to walk out of his life.

Chapter 18

Instead, I crash mybody against his in an unexpected turn of events that even my mind doesn’t have time to absorb my actions. My lips crush his in both desperation and passion, and I give my everything in this kiss. Every nerve in my body feels like it’s on fire.

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