Page 71 of Crimson Tears

It never felt right for either of us to be with other people, and with how strict my father was about boys, Cillian was the only one who had ever been in his good graces. Well, maybe not good graces, but he at least left us alone together.

I shiver, feeling the wind change. It’s something most people from here recognize, and just as I turn to Cillian, a warm rain storm breaks out. We begin to laugh as we run up the hill to the deserted castle we once played silly games in.

Just as we duck inside, Cillian grabs my arm and spins me so my back hits the wall lightly. I gasp, not from the hit, but from the look in his eyes.

“I’m done pretending, Ness. Are you done too?” Sincerity and longing stare back at me, so intense I want to say no. I want to stay in this safe place because I don’t know if my father will let me keep him.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he grins and gently tucks a stray hair behind my ear. “I asked your father already. And Enya.”

My mouth drops open and his thumb finds it, gently marking a path that I swear I can feel all the way in my toes.

“Ness, A stór, will you be mine?”

It’s not often I am speechless, especially not with Cillian. But I never imagined the emotions clogging my throat would hit me in this moment.

He asked my father. Cillian asked the great Donovan O’Neil if he could have his daughter. And he said yes.

But even more than that, my sister approved. Not that I’m surprised. She’s been telling me that Cillian and I were fated since the day we met. I’ve never believed in fate though.

Until now.

My hands trace Cillian’s long torso, all the way up to his neck, and then I bring his lips down to mine. As soon as they touch, it’s as if something inside of me ignites. My ears ring from the intensity, but my body arches into him, begging for more.

He gives it to me, and just as my lips part, his tongue sweeps in. It's messy and frantic, and it proves just how much we needed this.

“Yes,” I breathe when he breaks our kiss to look down at me. “I’m yours.”

The rain outside has stopped, but the tension in this shell of a castle only builds with every second. “I will love you the way you deserve to be loved for as long as you’ll let me.”

My lips lift in a smile. “I have loved you since we were eleven years old and you rescued my sister.”

He leans down so our noses touch, his dark eyes staring into my soul. “As I have loved you from the moment you pulled me from the fire.”

We stay there together, arms wrapped around each other until the very last minute.

“We need to go get ready,” I whisper, hating to break the moment but knowing we have somewhere we need to be.

“I’ll meet you there.” He squeezes my hand, and we both dart away from the castle and to our homes to get dressed for the evening, the whole time my lips burn from the ferocity of our kiss. I can’t help but smile as I walk into the house and head to my room.

However, when my father stops me, some of the joy seeps out of me.

“Nessa.”

I turn towards him, sitting at the breakfast table that looks out over the garden. Such a beautiful background surrounds this man who I have come to think of as a kin to demons.

“Yes, Father.”

I try to keep my attitude out of my voice. He knows this needs to be quick and that I have somewhere to be. He also knows that after last night, when he forced me to shoot a man between the eyes to prove my loyalty to him and the Reapers, I am not in the mood to speak with him. Especially since he still refuses to tell me what the man was guilty of.

“That boy came to me. Asked to be with you. You know what that means?”

Dread and nausea swirl in the pit of my stomach. I swallow hard, pushing past it as I stride toward him with false confidence.

“Why don’t you enlighten me?”

His knuckles turn white while holding his beer. It takes everything in me to keep the smirk wanting to break through at bay. My father loved me once. He spoiled me, protected me, and cherished our time together. But when his men began to question if I was going to be strong enough to lead if he kept pampering me, all of it stopped.

I remember the day as if it were yesterday. One minute, I was a daughter he doted on and brought gifts to. The next, I was his next of kin and the future leader of the Irish Reapers. A weapon to utilize, no longer a little girl to love.

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