Page 56 of Wickedly Yours

I’d joked about it with Willow—peering into her future. I could do it for Zain, too.Our future.Something more than just the hazy, fuzzy warmth I’d felt. But what if it ended badly?

I willed the thought away. No good would come of knowing. Not yet.

“Do you think you can be happy here?” Zain asked, breaking our comfortable silence.

“I hope so,” I murmured, drawing my eyes away from the flickering lights in the distance and back to his golden eyes that were brimming with so much hope.

“Me too,” he agreed before offering his hand. “Shall we call it a night, Moonbeam?”

I blushed at the nickname. “Why do you call me that?” I’d been wondering that ever since our first night together.

He frowned, reaching out to tug a lock of my hair. “Your hair reminds me of the moon.” Zain twirled it around his finger.

“Oh.” That made sense. He’d told me that when we’d laid under the stars. That my hair was like moonlight.

He shook his head, clearly not finished. “Because you’re my light in the dark. You shine so bright, Luna. I never thought… No, could have never even imagined you. How you would illuminate my entire world.”

I swallowed, not expecting the onslaught of emotions.

Somehow, I suspected I’d be thinking about those words long into the night.

SIXTEEN

zain

It was well into the night when we finally retreated to our rooms, the sounds of the party still audible from the balcony.

How had so much happened in such a short period?

This felt like the longest day of my entire life.

Sinking onto the couch, I closed my eyes, loosening the tie from around my neck and unbuttoning the top few buttons of my shirt.

“Well,” I said, heaving a sigh. “That went better than I expected.”

Luna turned in a full circle, gaping at me. “Zain.”

“Hm?”

Her eyes widened as she took in our surroundings. “These are…”

“My rooms,” I confirmed. “There are eyes and ears all over the palace. We can’t be too careful.” If we were going to talk, I certainly wouldn’t do it in the throne room, after all.

I used my head to indicate to the door on the other end of the room. “That one goes through to yours if you’re wondering.”

“We have…adjoiningrooms?” She raised an eyebrow, and I nodded.

“It’s customary. For royalty.” Plus, it had the bonus of keeping her safe. And I wanted her right next to me. “Do you want help taking that dress off?”

“Oh. Right.” Luna looked down at her attire as if she’d only just realized she was still in that beautiful gown and crown. “I can get Novalie…”

“Don’t bother,” I said, standing up and coming to stand in front of her. “I’ll do it.”

Her breath was shaky when she asked, “Are you sure?”

“Luna,” I murmured, my voice low as I pressed a kiss to her jaw. “No matter what’s happened today. I’m still me. We’re still the same people we were in your town.”

“Are we?” Her words were a whisper.

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