Page 128 of Reckless
“It would have made you less of a murderer,” he says harshly. “Why did you hide this from me?”
“Because…,” I stammer. “Because I can barely stand to look at myself! Don’t you understand?” Tears sting my eyes, but I push on. “Heruinedme. Marred me. For the rest of my life, I will look at this scar and think of the man I hated most. The man who had my father killed. The man who mercilessly killed Ordinaries like me. The man who tried to murder me himself.” I shake my head, looking anywhere but at him. “I couldn’t let anyone else see how he branded me. See the damage he did. I… I just couldn’t.”
The hurt held in his gaze is almost too much to bear. “Gray…”
“Say my name,” I whisper. “Please.”
I know he hasn’t said it since we escaped the prison. Since I told him he lost the privilege of calling me it. And he’s respected my rule ever since.
But I crave the sound of my name on his tongue. I want him to shout it from a rooftop, whisper it in my ear, trace it on my skin. I want my name to form a familiar shape in his mouth, tasting of my lips.
I want him to own my name and still beg when he says it.
Or maybe I just want him.
Surprise seeps through his crumbling mask before relief washes it all away. A hesitant smile lifts his lips, as though I’ve just uttered the most beautiful words he’s ever heard.
He says my name like it’s been on the tip of his tongue, whispered into every breath he’s taken. “Paedyn.”
Then he opens his arms.
A quiet sob slips past my lips as I crawl into his lap.
Strong arms fold around me before I bury my face in his bare chest. He runs a hand down my short hair, holding my neck as I shake against him. “He didn’t ruin you, Pae,” he murmurs against my ear.The nickname sends a tear rolling down my cheek to splatter his chest. “But you thinking so means that even in death, he wins. That scar is a testament of your strength. A testament ofwhoyou are, not what.”
I nod, curling closer against him. Flowers swallow us as we sit there in silence, creating a pretty wall of petals. His body is warm, his arms a heavy comfort around me.
We sit until darkness settles over us, his palm stroking my hair all the while. When the moon hangs low over us, and my eyelids grow heavy, he gently slides me from his lap to lay out a bedroll.
He all but lifts me onto it before lying down beside me, his shoulder brushing mine. I roll onto my side to face him despite the darkness. “Thank you.”
He turns his head with what I’m sure is a smirk on his lips. “That’s six times now.”
“And likely the last,” I say with a smile.
He looks back up at the stars winking down at us. “Scars.”
I blink. “What?”
“Scars,” he repeats. “Something else I’ve always had a thing for.”
Laughter seems to stutter in my throat, as if unsure whether it should come out of my mouth. He reaches over and gently flicks the tip of my nose, making me giggle in a way I didn’t know I could.
“Plagues, I love that sound,” he murmurs, making me fall silent. “I would tattoo it into my skin if it meant you’d laugh at me for doing it.”
“And I would,” I say quietly.
He chuckles before his lips press against my forehead, the kiss soft and sweet. Then he pulls me closer as I turn my back to him, allowing an arm to hook around my waist.
“Try not to dream of me, Pae,” he whispers against my ear.
“You first, Prince.”
CHAPTER 45Kai
Today is the day.
The panicked thought pulls me from my sleep.
