Page 11 of Seas and Scepters

The words hit me like a physical blow.Beautiful.When was the last time anyone had called me that?When was the last time anyone had looked at me with anything other than pity or horror?

"You don't have to—"

"I don't say things I don't mean," she interrupted, and there was something almost regal in her tone."Your scars tell a story.They speak of survival, of strength.Of paying a price for something you believed was worth protecting."

How could she possibly understand so much from so little?I found myself leaning into her touch, starved for the acceptance I heard in her voice.

"What's your story, Selene?How did you come to be here?"

A shadow passed over her features."I was cast out," she said simply."Banished by my family for failing to meet their expectations.For not being what they needed me to be."

The pain in her voice resonated with something deep in my chest.Here was someone else who understood the weight of disappointment, the burden of not being enough.

"Their loss," I said firmly."If they couldn't see your worth, then they didn't deserve you."

She looked up at me with those extraordinary eyes, and I saw something vulnerable and raw in their depths."Do you truly believe that?"

"Yes.Absolutely."

For a long moment, we simply looked at each other.The air between us seemed charged with a strange magnetism.When she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

The kiss was soft at first, tentative, but when I responded, she melted against me with a sound that was part sigh, part surrender.Her lips were warm and sweet, and when they parted beneath mine, I felt something long-dormant stir to life in my chest.

"Are you certain?"I whispered against her mouth, remembering Lydia's words about her inexperience."We don't have to—"

"I want to," she breathed, her hands fisting in the fabric of my shirt."Please.I want to feel what it’s like to have you between my legs."

The honest vulnerability in her words undid me completely.I gathered her close, marveling at how perfectly she fit against me, how right it felt to hold her.When I lifted her in my arms, she wrapped herself around me like she belonged there.

I carried her to the large bed that dominated one corner of the room, laying her down gently.In the candlelight, her skin seemed to glow with an inner radiance, and her luminous hair spread across the dark pillows like spilled moonlight.

"You're so beautiful," I murmured, tracing the curve of her cheek with trembling fingers."I've never seen anyone like you."

She reached up to cup my scarred face in both hands."Nor I you," she whispered."You're not what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"A monster," she admitted."Someone cruel and heartless.Not this.Not someone who looks at me like I'm something precious."

"You are precious," I said fiercely."Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Something broke in her expression—some wall or barrier that had been holding her together.Tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them back.

"Show me," she whispered."Show me what it means to be cherished."

I kissed her then with all the tenderness I possessed, my lips moving slowly against hers as my hands began their gentle exploration.She trembled beneath my touch, her breathing growing uneven as I traced the delicate curve of her throat, the soft hollow at the base of her neck where her pulse fluttered like a caged bird.

Her skin was silk beneath my fingers, warm and impossibly smooth.When I pressed my lips to the sensitive spot behind her ear, she gasped, her body arching toward mine with an instinct that seemed to surprise her.Every response was genuine, unguarded, as if she had never learned to hide her desires behind artifice.

"You taste like starlight," I murmured against her throat, drawing a soft moan from her lips.The sound sent fire racing through my veins, but I forced myself to go slowly, to savor every moment of this perfect communion.

My hands found the laces of her gown, and she helped me free her from the confining fabric with eager fingers.When the silk pooled around her waist, I could only stare in wonder.Her body was a masterpiece of curves and shadows, pale skin that seemed to capture and reflect the candlelight.She was perfection incarnate, and for reasons I couldn't fathom, she was here with me.

I began to worship her with my hands and mouth, mapping every curve and hollow of her body.She writhed beneath me, her fingers tangling in my hair as soft cries of pleasure escaped her lips.When my mouth found the peak of her breast, she arched against me with such abandon that I nearly lost all control.

"Please," she gasped, her hands tugging at my shirt with desperate urgency."I need to touch you too."

I helped her remove the barriers between us, shivering as her fingers traced the scars that marked my torso—old wounds from training accidents, marks of a warrior's life.But she touched each one with the same gentleness I had shown her, as if every imperfection made me more beautiful rather than less.

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