Page 76 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
“I’m not certain you are.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Why not?”
“Because you look sad.”
“So do you.”
“Back in the cave.”
The only time I see the sun is when I’m with you.
I shook my head. “All I want, all I’veeverwanted, was to feelfreeto be who I am. To be with—”
“Pleasedon’t finish that thought,” Noble said, throat bobbing. “I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
I bit my lip, shook my head, frustrated—no,furious—at the idea of never kissing him again. Never feeling him against me like that again. Never knowing the sensation of his bare skin sliding against mine, filling me—
“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop.”
I lifted my chin. “That obvious?”
“Painfully.”
“And what if I don’t stop thinking about it?”
Noble ran a palm over his face with a grumble. “Your identity isn’t the only thing that makes this dangerous, Hattie.”
He meant the research program, no doubt. Viren. I hadn’t been willing to admit it since the attack, but I’d found myself at the middle ofanotherpolitical conspiracy of some sort, and of all people, I knew the risk of not treading lightly.
I sighed, relenting. “You’re right.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s a relief,” I said, “to feel like I’m not completely alone in this agony.”
“You are not alone in the agony,” he confirmed, a small smile quirking those lips—lips I now knew thefeelingof. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Staring at me like I’m a meal.”
I cocked my head, assuming a haughty expression. “Yes, well, you’re doing the same thing to me.”
“Hard not to.”
“You did a good job of pretending not to for most of our lives.”
“I was just trying to spare you the burden.” A sad smile. “But I was bound to break eventually.”
“It wasn’tjustyour burden to bear.”
A nod. “I should go.”
The backs of my eyes stung. “Alright.”
“Hattie,” Noble murmured, stepping into my personal space again. “Peach.”
He pinched my chin between his thumb and index finger, lifting it so he could ghost a kiss across my lips. Again, I tasted the delicious, indescribable essence ofhim, and…Hylder? No, that must’ve been the scent of the Black Lace beside us, mingling with my sense of taste.
