Page 108 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
I breathed deeply, nodded. “I’m still not afraid.”
“Hattie, if I turn, I won’t be able to control—”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” I said firmly, touching his cheek.
“How?”
“I’m the Hylder Queen, remember?”
That made him laugh, though it was weak and doubtful.
“You, me, Phina, the research team—we’re going to solve it,” I said.
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I only just got you,” I said, shimmying closer. “Not even the Fates could stand between us now.”
37
Not If, But When
Noble
Hattie fell asleep in Noble’s arms, her body boneless and heavy. Noble held her close, filling his lungs with her rosemary and citrus scent, rocking them both with his deep breaths. Not wanting to miss a single moment, he willed himself to stay awake.
The room was dark, but with his heightened vision, he was able to count every freckle on her face: one hundred and thirty-seven. His favorite was the one on her upper lip, right in the center of the bow. He stroked her hair gently, eliciting a soft sigh from her parted mouth. With her body stretched against him, he felt like he was holding the entire universe in his arms.
Perfect.
She was perfect. This night was perfect.
I’ve loved you since we were children. I’m certainly not going to stop now.
He’d known that she cared about him but hearing her declaration—wholehearted and without hesitation—had been the single most winning moment of his life. A part of him had always feared that one day, Hattie would see all his flaws and change her mind about how she felt. For her tostillwant him now that she knew who and what he was—it was staggering.
He wanted to talk her out of it. That would be the right thing to do. But after tonight, he doubted he could summon the willpower—and he doubted she’d listen.
So, he simply held her, feeling the fear and gratitude and everything in between. He thought about all the ways he wanted to make love to her, but more importantly, the ways he wanted toloveher: reading together, holding hands on long walks, telling her all the qualities he admired about her that he’d held back from saying aloud before. Her openness, her humor, her curiosity, her kindness. How brilliantly she shined.
It was in the listing of these qualities that he, too, fell into slumber.
He dreamt of Hattie in a garden: white dress, bare feet, gathering flowers in her arms. And he remained himself. A man with red blood pumping through his heart. A man without worry. A man in love.
He awoke again to gauzy morning light slanting through the window, the sounds of the city muffled. Hattie stirred, pressing closer. He planted a kiss on her temple, her nose, that freckle.
She barely opened her eyes before she was traveling down his body, whispering naughty things about wanting to taste him. With her magic, it was the most intimate thing imaginable for her to take him in her mouth, to lick and suck until he forgot his own name.
He was moments from coming when he stopped her, wanting to prolong it, to feel her cunt again. She turned onto her belly, hips up, and it was better than any dream or desperate fantasy when he entered her from behind, murmuring into her ear just how much he loved her while he moved inside her slowly and indulgently.
Afterward, they dozed with their bodies tangled together. Woke ravenous and sent for breakfast. Ate pastries in bed, reminiscing. About their summer afternoons in the secret grove by the river, and Raina’s lilting laugh, the stunning Maronan winters, and climbing to the top of the willow tree in the courtyard at Castle Wynhaim.
And it wasgood.
So good he wondered if he was still dreaming.
So good it scared him.
He dreaded the day this dream turned into a nightmare. Because with his affliction, he feared it wasn’t a matter ofif, butwhen.
