Page 11 of The Shadow's Soulmate

“And that’s why you never would.”

I shuffled closer to him. He refused to meet my eyes.

“Your father couldn’t control himself even slightly. He probably never even tried. It benefitted him to have you both afraid of him. ‘Losing control’ got him what he wanted, I bet. You have controlled yourself for… a long time. Letting yourself feel those feelings now won’t eradicate all of that.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve seen these sorts of things before. I’m a therapist. If you couldn’t control yourself and your emotions, you wouldn’t have been able to do it for all this time. I trust you. Every part of me trusts every part of you.”

I knew with every single cell of my body that he would never hurt me. He finally met my eyes, and I leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on the area that looked a bit like a nose. His face felt like the softest velvet against my lips. I focused intently on the future I thought we would have together. I didn’t know if it would work, but I leaned my forehead to his and pulled up an image of us together, free of this place. In our own home, wrapped in each other’s arms, and I imagined the contentment we would feel in that moment.

He jolted backwards

“How did you do that?”

“I don’t know. But I figured if you could see the future, then you could see how it could be. The future I see.”

His eyes widened.

“I’ve never felt that feeling before. What was it?”

“Happiness and contentment.”

He leaned his face against me.

“Do it again.”

I focused on the feeling again. Us in a garden in the sun. He sighed like the weight of the world had lifted from him and I felt his body sag before he spoke again.

“I will do whatever I have to, to get this for us.”

Chapter 8

Descaris

Although my body burned for her, I knew she needed more from me than just the physical. As amazing as the physical would be. Somehow, through our connection, she had shown me what our lives could be. A feeling I’d never known. Something that was almost overwhelming. I’d wrapped myself around her and let her fall asleep in my arms. Such a simple pleasure, spending the night with your mate. Torturous. But wonderful.

When she’d woken and turned her sleepy little face towards me, I knew I was lost. Everything I had been was gone. She had truly destroyed me. And I didn’t mind one bit. Everything I was from now on was for her. Perhaps I was broken, but I never wanted to be fixed. And all of this, these feelings for her, weren’t a weakness. I had never felt stronger or more determined to shape fate the way I wanted.

She smiled at me shyly as she wordlessly changed into her work clothes. I watched her curves with fascination. They were exquisite. I wanted to taste every inch of her olive skin.

“I’m sorry, I’m running late for a session. I have to go.”

“When will you be back?”

“I’ll dash back at lunch to grab a shower.”

The words hung in the air between us, and she grinned.

“I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

She blushed, and I floated to her. She leaned into me and let me slowly graze my lips over hers. Then, because I didn’t think I could control myself any more, I blipped back to my cell. My feelings threatened to overwhelm me. I closed my eyes, playing back the scene she had shown me of us together. I’d turned from a cold-hearted viscous ruler to a pile of mush. But I was a pile of mush that would do absolutely anything to have that moment with her.

I stayed in my cell, trying to process everything until the lunch bell rang. I blipped straight to her room, beating her there by a few minutes. When she walked in the door, I rushed to her, gathering her up against me. Our lips clashed together. I devoured her, and she moaned into my mouth. I was completely solid and as hard as a rock. There’d been plenty of sexual experiences in my long life, but I’d never kissed, and been kissed in return, like our lives depended on it. Like it was an exquisitely erotic experience all of its own.

Ella pulled away, and it was all I could do to not grab her and press her back against me. She took my hand and led me into the small, grey bathroom. I leaned against the wall as she slowly removed her clothes, smiling a sweet smile at me. She wasn’t trying to be sexy or enticing, it just was because it was her. Her body was perfection. That curve in at the waist and then back out at the hips. The soft stomach and thighs. I wanted to squeeze them tightly. Her round breasts were just the right size for my large hand.

She turned the shower on and stepped in. Water ran over her, soaking her hair, and trails of water ran down her body.

---