Page 142 of Beast and Remedy
I huff a laugh, and Christine adds, “Weallwill be checking on Vi.”
“Not me,” Leo says, and Marcel nudges him when Marian whirls on him. He scowls at his friend before sighing. “Okay, fine.MaybeI’ll check in too. But right now, I have a bath and large bed calling my name.”
Leo saunters for the door, opening it and gesturing to the rest of us. “Anyone else coming?”
Christine loops her arm around Marcel’s and extends her other toward Jules, who glances back before joining her partners and leaving.
Marian takes my hand, giving it two quick pulses of love before meeting up with Leo.
He offers her his elbow, and she takes it begrudgingly. The two bid us good night, leaving Beau and me alone to their footsteps filling the silence stretching between us.
A moment passes before he scoots close and holds my face, his thumbs stroking my cheeks. “As much as I want to kiss you, I’d hate myself for hurting you even more.”
“I feel fine.” I guide his lips to mine.
“Liar,” he chuckles against my mouth, and when I deepen the kiss, he groans. “So eager.”
“For you, always.”
He sighs, pulling away. “Believe me, I want to keep kissing you.”
“Then, why are you still talking?”
He rocks his head back, bursting into a fit of laughter.
I can’t help my own smirk appearing, nor can I stop the fluttering of my heart and the quickening of my pulse.
His golden irises find mine when his amusement quiets. “As badly as we both want that, I don’t want to do anything to worsen your condition. And I can’t see how bad your injury is until the morning.”
“If that was the case, why did you insist on staying with me?”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” His sinfully handsome expression makes my insides clench with need. “Besides, this is the first time in a while we’ll have some alone time, and selfishly, I want you all to myself,” he adds before kissing my forehead. “And we now have an excuse to stay here longer than we intended.”
I gape. “We—we can’t stay here forever. We have to—”
He silences me with his mouth, and I hum with delight.
He murmurs along my lips, “We won’t stay here longer than necessary. But you need to be well before we travel.”
“But you said to stay here longer than—”
“Give me an extra day or two.” He leans back in, kissing me softly—tenderly—and I can’t help but melt into it.
I fist his tunic and pull him closer. My want and desire drive madness in my mind and steal all sense.
I am utterly doomed by this man.
Beau pulls away, his devoted gaze holding me and my soul captive as he whispers, “I want to be in the same room as you. To be in the same bed as you. To sleep beside you and hold you after we fuck each other senseless. An extra day or two to not sneak away—not hide our true feelings from the world. An extra day or two to be here with you while you recover.”
My heart thrums, wanting to crawl out of my body and latch onto him, its true home. “I want all of those things too, Beau, but…”
I think of my sister, the infection, the time still needed to create the right dosage for a remedy, and the promise I made about finding a husband.
A husband who won’t be Beau…
My hold on him relaxes as I glance away, and he remains silent, letting me gather my thoughts.
I fight to keep him in my life and save my sister—my kingdom—everyone, hating that I’ve already sacrificed the battle of being with him. All to win the war against the virus threatening our world.
