Page 43 of A Kiss of Embers
“Because…” He lifted one shoulder. “I’m a half-breed. Imagine the lowliest position you can be within your clan. That is me.”
“Surely not.”
“Surely yes. I’m not worth loving.” He cleared his throat as if to rectify his words. “I’m not worth risking your life nor your future for.”
She gazed at him in an attempt to convey the sincerity of her words. “You are worth it to me.”
His lips parted, disbelief staring back at her but also…hope. He wanted to love. He wanted to be loved. And she was willing to risk everything for this moment. Perhaps he was, too, as he didn’t stop her as she trailed her thumb over his lips, memorizing the shape of them. The softness. The laughter always waiting on the corners of his mouth. The way they eagerly drank in her fire.
“Love me today and let’s forget about tomorrow,” she whispered, placing herself on the edge of a cliff, not knowing if she would fall or soar.
He lifted his hand, and she sighed as he trailed the back of his fingers over her cheek. “You are going to be the death of me.”
“Get in line,” she laughed, which was promptly swallowed when their lips crashed together again within a passionate yet gentle embrace.
For a moment, everything was perfect. Because no matter how impossible a future was together, here in this moment, they had each other. If only for a short while, she had a choice.
And this was her choice.
Rain pattered relentlessly on the roof shingles a short distance above them, a calming, methodic rhythm that drowned out the rest of the world. As Bastien held Seraphina in his arms, he realized he could never feel cold or lonely in her presence. Her heat wrapped him up within the warm cocoon of the furs they lay beneath, thoroughly tangled up in each other.
He ran a finger along her arm and released a contented sigh. Although he would never admit it out loud, he cared for this woman. Immensely. But speaking his thoughts, his feelings, would not change the outcome of the future.
“Let’s run away together,” Seraphina murmured against his neck as if pondering the same things going through his mind. His only response was to squeeze her hand where it rested against his chest. His father’s words echoed in his head.You need to leave in the dead of night. Get far, far away from the settlement. Go somewhere they can never find you.
He wanted to. So badly. But…
“Pri?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
“She’s in trouble if she stays. She will have to come, too.”
“And my father?”
Silence.
Both of them knew hiding him, let alone getting him out of the settlement, would be impossible.
Bastien ran a hand over his face. To secure his own happiness, he would have to let his father go. And he wasn’t sure his conscience would allow it. But he wanted to live this fantasy, no matter how fleeting. And he suspected she did, too, even though he knew she wouldn’t abandon her people.
“Where would we go?” He caressed her shoulder with the tips of his fingers, admiring the tough scales blended into soft skin.
“Far away from here. We could live in the shadow kingdom. No one would look for us there.”
He shivered. “That place seems…backward. Nocturnal fae? Terrifying creatures everyone thinks are normal?” Yet, he grinned. “Sign me up.”
Her answering smile filled the cavern of his chest with happiness. “And we’ll live in a cute little cottage at the edge of the woods. Perfect for a Forest Fae like yourself to feel at home.”
“With a waterfall nearby,” he added. “One that faces west to make Ember Fae feel at home during each sunset.”
She stroked the skin at his neck. “And we’ll have five children.”
He swallowed the rising emotion in his throat, fighting back the internal torment raging inside him. It was impossible. But this was only a fantasy. One he wanted to come true with his entire being. “Six,” he corrected. “Always an even number.”
A laugh escaped her. “Five,” she insisted. “Always an odd number.”
“All right, five,” he relented. “And Pri. Bringing us to an even six.”
Beneath the furs, she kicked his foot, and he retaliated by capturing it between his and silencing her protests with a kiss. Her heat immediately seeped into him, creating a pit of longing. Because he wanted her forever. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he never wanted to let her go.
