Page 10 of Accidentally Ever After
A flush of violet spread across his cheekbones. “Fairy wings are… exceedingly sensitive, yes. Particularly to the touch of one’s… matched partner.”
“So when I touched your wing, it felt…”
“Intimate,” he supplied, his voice dropping lower. “Very intimate.”
“Oh,” I said, heat rising to my face. “Sorry about that, then.”
“I am not,” he said simply.
Our eyes met over the glowing pool, and something electric passed between us. One of his wings extended slightly, the edge brushing against my shoulder blade with deliberate slowness. Even through my shirt, the contact sent a jolt of pleasure down my spine.
“Caelen,” I breathed, not sure if it was a warning or an invitation.
He moved closer, his wing now pressed more firmly against my back. “The bond recognizes compatibility,” he murmured. “It does not create attraction where none exists.”
“So you’re saying…”
“I am saying,” he continued, his voice velvet soft, “that if my touch affects you, it is because your body already desired it. The magic merely… heightens what is already there.”
To demonstrate his point, he let his wing stroke down my back in a slow caress. The sensation was unlike anything I’d experienced—a tingling heat that spread from the point of contact throughout my entire body.
“Fuck,” I gasped, my hand dropping to brace against the stone edge of the pool.
“Such language,” he teased, but his eyes had darkened to deep indigo, pupils dilated.
“You did that on purpose,” I accused breathlessly.
“I did,” he admitted without a trace of remorse. “I wished to demonstrate my point.”
“Which is?”
“That there is something between us beyond magical coercion.” His wing brushed me again, lighter this time, and I couldn’t suppress a shiver. “The question is, what do you wish to do about it?”
I should have backed away. Should have maintained boundaries. Should have remembered I was essentially a prisoner in this realm, married against my will.
Instead, I reached out and gently traced the edge of his extended wing with my fingertip.
The effect was immediate and dramatic. Caelen’s entire body went rigid, his eyes fluttering closed as a sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan escaped his lips. The wing beneath my finger trembled, and I could see the pearlescent patterns on his skin begin to glow faintly.
“Blake,” he breathed, my name like a prayer on his lips.
Emboldened, I stroked my finger along the membrane of his wing, marveling at its texture—like the finest silk but warm and somehow alive. His reaction was intoxicating—each touchdrawing another soft sound from him, his body leaning toward mine as if magnetized.
“Is this okay?” I asked, suddenly uncertain.
His eyes opened, now so dark they were nearly black with just a rim of violet. “More than okay,” he said, his voice rough. “But dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?”
Instead of answering, he surged forward, one hand capturing the back of my neck as his lips claimed mine.
The kiss was electric—literally. A current seemed to pass between us, making my lips tingle and my heart race. His mouth was cool at first but quickly warmed against mine, and he tasted like wild honey and something otherworldly I couldn’t name.
I should have pulled away. Instead, I found myself kissing him back, my hand still resting on his wing, feeling it quiver beneath my touch.
Caelen made a sound deep in his throat and deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that made heat pool in my lower belly. His free hand found my waist, pulling me closer until I was practically in his lap.
His wings enfolded us both, creating a cocoon of iridescent purple-blue that caught and refracted the light from the moonblooms. The sensation of being surrounded by them—by him—was intoxicating.
