Page 76 of Faking with the Fae King

“We share that in common,” I admit. At her startled gaze, I add, “I was king, but I lived in the service of theDark God. There were never nights like this, never times that were for nothing but beauty and the pleasure of another’s company.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She leans forward to take my hand, sympathy filling her beautiful eyes. “Tell me more about it? If you want…”

“I was a warrior king. The Dark God wanted to conquer all the realms of Faerie, and I was his instrument. Avalon was already half dead by the time I was born. I grew up believing it was simply the way of the world and that the Dark God’s desires were noble.” All of this is difficult. I’ve never admitted any of this to anyone. Since my closest confidants lived it beside me, Varyn and Daigan know all of this with no need for discussion. To tell Hannah makes me feel raw and exposed, yet a part of me also longs to have her know me better. “Then I visited Alarria and walked through a healthy forest of trees that sang to me of life. I saw orcs and other fae living as they chose instead of under the command of the Dark God, and I knew I wanted that for myself: No more war, only life.”

“Have you found that here, on Earth?”

“I have.” A deep breath fills my nose with the scents of greenery and flowers, a visceral realization of all I’ve gained. Yet Earth is so much more than that, because I’ve also found Hannah, who sees the best in me, who looks at me like a man instead of a villain. Even after my confession, her eyes hold nothing but warmth. It’s intoxicating. My body yearns toward hers like a plant eager for the sun.

I squeeze her fingers, then lift my glass for another toast. “To making up for lost time. I propose we spend the next year exploring the possibilities of ‘getting a life’ together.”

She drinks and sets down her glass, but her fingers linger, playing with the stem, her eyes focused on them as she clears her throat in a show of nerves. “There’s something else I want to talk about.”

My shoulders tighten. Is she going to say it was a mistake, that it can never happen again? That’s the very last thing I want.

“I didn’t say the right thing afterward. The truth is… I didn’t know what to say.” Her eyes flick up to meet mine. “I’ve never had magical sex before. I have no idea what’s normal. And that’s hard for me. I like knowing things, being competent, but this whole magic thing has made me fumble around. After we were together, I couldn’t handle the thought of you realizing this was another area of magic I didn’t know. I said the wrong thing at the time, and I want to fix that now.” Pink tints her cheeks. “That night was special for me.”

The Severin of the past would howl in triumph that she exposed a vulnerability and start listing ways to exploit it. How foolish that would be! This is not weakness. On the contrary, Hannah’s admission took great strength—the kind of strength I’ve never shown in my life.

Until now. Until her.

“It is I who should be sorry,” I say. “Of course, you couldn’t know how magic impacts sex, and I should have realized that.”

I could tell her how I’ve never known a loving relationship in my life. How my parents were distant, their entire lives focused on serving the Dark God right up untiltheir final battle.

Yet I no longer need to be that person. I’m already changing, most of it due to the woman sitting across from me. Hannah makes me want to reach for the finer feelings in life. The truth of my hollow emotional life is too raw to expose, yet I want to offer her something.

“Let me assure you, nothing about our encounter was normal. I’ve never felt that kind of desire before. My knot has never swelled for anyone else.” I pluck her hand from the glass and hold it tight. “It was special for me as well.You’respecial to me.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Hannah

I promised myself I’d finally talk to Severin, but I almost chickened out, because I didn’t want to ruin this amazing date. I’m so freaking glad I said something!

Severin’s words ring through me. I’m special to him! Everything happening between usissomething special. Giddy relief bubbles in my chest as if my blood’s been replaced with champagne. I can’t stop smiling.

His lips quirk. “Are you going to respond?”

“You need to kiss me, and it totally needs to be now.”

With a growl, he leaps from his chair to pull me to him. His shadows lift me as he takes me into his arms, his mouth hot and insistent as he eats at my lips like a man starved. His tongue tangles with mine, tasting of wine and tangy, sweet raspberries.

My butterflies dip and spin in a delighted swirl. A moanescapes me, the needy little one I never made until him.

“Goddess, Hannah,” he growls against my lips. “Do you know how wild that noise makes me? Do it again.” His fangs scrape over my throat, teasing the sensitive skin behind my ear.

I do exactly as he tells me and moan again, my fingers clutching his wide shoulders.

An indistinct shout cuts through the lovely harp music, and Severin pulls away from me to glare at where townspeople watch us from every side.

“Oh, yeah.” I blink quickly a few times. “We’re awfully public here.” It was part of the point of the very public date—to show everyone the happy couple they expect—but I forgot to act happy to be with him because Iwashappy.

“Then allow me to remedy that.” In a flash, his wings spread wide, and he launches us into the sky, soaring up, up, up into the moonlit night.

He slows until we hover in midair, far above the tiny lights of the town below. Severin buries his hand in my hair, pulls my head back, and kisses me again, hot, intoxicating kisses that fill my veins with thick honey and threaten to claim my soul.

“Hannah, I must taste you,” he groans. “The thought of burying my head between your pretty thighs has haunted me for days. I won’t wait any longer.”

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