Page 31 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
This means Rhianelle doesn’t mind me holding her. I swallow hard. She wants me in her bed.
I don’t want to shatter this spell between us. I snake my arm around her waist, securing her closer to me. My hand accidentally grazes her breast, and a gentle sigh leaves her. I smile at the uneven cadence of her heart at the touch.
I wonder where else I can ‘accidentally’ touch her in my sleep. I want to flip her around to face me and claim her lips.
No, that would be too fucking obvious. If I’m going to play with her, it has to be subtle, the unconscious movement of someone who is asleep.
Slowly, I bury my face in her neck. Goosebumps erupt on her skin at the feel of my breath and she goes absolutely still. I plant my lips on the sensitive skin there, clamping my mouth andsucking hard. Rhianelle gasps at that, and by the devil, the sound is so fucking sweet.
My hand moves to cup her breast as I reel her in closer, hugging her like she’s my personal doll. I tease her sensitive elven ear, kissing, licking, and sucking the soft lobes. Her body arches and she makes little anguish noises that go straight to my balls.
Hell, I fucking love her reactions. I’ve never felt so desperate for someone in my entire existence.
I nibble on the delicate tip of her ear and it twitches desperately. Her delicate breathing turns ragged, harsher. Then I feel drops of tears on my arm. Something like guilt clamps on my chest but I ignore it because I’m an asshole.
I keep testing her tolerance until she’s writhing and whimpering in my grasp. I can’t seem to help myself when it comes to her.
Come on, Nel.
How long are you planning to keep this up?
Why don’t we cut this bullshit and play together?
No matter what I do to her, Rhianelle keeps pretending that she’s sound asleep. The temptation to keep on teasing her until she surrenders is almost overwhelming. I want to slide my hand into the slick arousal between her thighs.
But I know any more than this would be too cruel for my soft little fawn.
I quit teasing her.
Now is not the time to test out one of my licentious fantasies. I need some fucking restraint if I still want a chance with her.
My fingers run long, soothing strokes down her sides. She slowly becomes languid in my arms as she falls into a deep slumber. I can hardly believe that any of this is real. But here she is…
The girl has chosen to stay.
Rhianelle is still here despite hearing me admit that I’m a fucking monster who cares little for mortal lives.
A weight lifts from my chest as I watch her nestled like a bird in the crook of my arm. The chaos brewing in my mind calms, knowing that she wants to be here with me.
Nel chose me.
Chapter 4 Rhianelle
I’ll never let anything hurt you.
You’re the only thing that matters to me.
You’re my everything.
I can’t lose you, Nel.
Svenn’s confession from last night echoes like a haunting whisper. It wrecks me in the best possible way. He cradles me closer to his broad chest in the cold of dawn, molding my body to his. But just as the sun begins to rise, he slips out from the bed.
I wait a good half an hour before I pretend to stretch and yawn. Svenn is waiting for me, perched at the long table, crossing his arms in his black tunic and leather. He’s more like his usual self, cold and menacing. A heavy silence falls between us as I stare back into his punishing dark eyes.
“If you’re hoping to find some knight in shining armor or a Prince Charming in there, you’re out of luck, little fawn,” he says tonelessly. “I’m not it.”
My heart beats sharply against my ribcage. The tension in the air grows thick as we stew in the silence.
