Page 75 of The Ballad of a Bard

West lifted her off the ground, tugging her upwards as she took the signal and wrapped her legs around his low waist. He kissed her again and again, because that’s all he’d wanted to do for quite some time now. Since the ball, truly. He’d wanted to take her against the shower wall, to see her tremble, not from the cold water but from him. Those sinful words she’d said to him still rotated in his mind too.

Admittingly, he wanted those things to.

All, and so much more.

From her.

West panted, his breath ragged as he stopped kissing her at last. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in his long lived life, but he did it reluctantly. He set her down gently, finding it hard to look at anything other than the lust gleaming in her hazel eyes. Her mouth was swollen and it called to him, urged him to sweep her up in his arms and kiss her until she’d never want to kiss another again.

But then his sense returned as a slow clap started from across the room. His gaze shot to the sound immediately, stiffening when he saw who stood there.

Altivar.

Suddenly he understood.

The cruel Prince must have said something to her, done something to provoke her into making a move on him. Without a single need for explanation, West quickly pulled her back to him and tucked his arms under her legs. She yelped in surprise as he pulled her to his chest.

“We’re not even close to done yet, Crimson.” He murmured in a tone that most would assume to be that of a lover, but loud enough for the nosy heir to hear. “We’ve just begun.”

“West-” Her throat moved, a soft puff of air escaping her lips. It made his false name sound like a damned prayer. He couldn’t tell if her reaction was fake or not, and he didn’t care. He was as hard as rock below his belt and carrying her like this didn’t do anything to hide it. Not that West wanted to. It was precisely the proof that Altivar needed, because he turned his back and walked off with a shake of his head.

West didn’t set her back down, however.

He’d keep up the act until they made it back to his apartments. She held on for her life, looking at anything and everything except him.

When he kicked open his door, he still didn’t let her go, shutting it behind them. She made to jump out of his arms but he held firm.

Crimson let out a sound of protest but he lowered her to the bed.

“I- I’m sorry West. He was questioning our relationship, and was trying to say that there was another reason for it all. I thought it was the best thing to do at the moment and I wasn’t thinking about you or your boundaries. I should have respected them, shouldn’t have just assumed that you would have been alright with that since I don’t know how you feel but I do know how I feel. It’s intense but so was the pressure from Altivar. Not that it makes it any better for kissing you against your will, but I promise that that was not my intention coming in from the start. He just irritated me so much by claiming that you somehow belonged to him, and not me, when I want you to belong to me, and not him but I still shouldn’t have kissed you and I’m sorry.”

She was rambling and he didn’t care. He stood in front of the bed, waiting for the rush of blood to fill his head again, instead of into his pants. There were no rational, no reasonable thoughts except the thick pulse of his heart as he stared down at her. There was about three seconds before he did something that went against everything inside of him.

Crimson bit her lip in that stupid way that he adored, alongside many of the other things invisible to anyone else. But he saw them all. Liked them all.

For just a second, West forgot that he was a Saint.

He left behind his immortal life, and all the powers that being a Saint came with. He pictured his life with a mortal span and ignored any ache of light that dared to show. And within that sneak peak of something he’d never had, he saw her.

Saw them.

Saw the way she trained in the yard as he made dinner, stirring some sort of stew in a pot. Saw the way they curled up together in the middle of the night, how his arm kept her tucked into him. Saw long baths together, pressed firmly as the bubbles floated in the air. He saw Cobalt like a son, a brother as they lived in a cozy cottage together, the way they all laughed along the riverside as he tried to catch a golden fish.

He saw sneaking candies to the young boy and whispering to keep it a secret as Cobalt nodded, jogging off to hide the sweets before his sister saw and took it away. He saw card games with them both, supporting and loving them both. He saw peace and light for once, allowing himself to live like any other.

He saw the flush of her body as she writhed under him, heard the soft sounds she uttered for him and only him.

Fuck.

West dragged a hand over his mouth.

“Please say something.” She said quietly, tucking her knees into her chest as she sat in the middle of the bed.

Only one thing came to mind, one thing that he said out loud. He didn’t care if it was a mistake. Nothing else would fill that void right now.

Nothing, nothing but her.

So for a moment, he would pretend.

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