Page 42 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
But Svenn is not having any of it. “That would mean you’re afraid of me. I don’t want that.”
My lips purse and I cease laughing when he passes me his dagger. “If it makes you feel better, safer. Do what you must.”
“What? No—I’m not going to stab you.” I panic.
His gaze gentles, yet the fire in those eyes is enough to scorch me into ashes. “I need you to know I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know that, Svenn.” I swallow hard.
I know. I know. I know. I heard your confession.
A million unspoken words remain unsaid between us, but I read the truth in that sharp gaze. Rainer and Aerin were always two steps ahead of me whenever we played chess. Forthe first time in forever, I have the upper hand. I heard Svenn’s confession last night.
You’re my everything.
And he doesn’t know that I know. But how can this still be a fair game when he has laid all his cards on the table?
I’ve won…
You’re the only thing that matters to me.
I can’t lose you, Nel.
I frame his face with my hands, forcing him to look at me. “The bond wants me to hold you again.”
A growing smirk decorates his face. “It does?”
There’s that suspicious, knowing smile again. It’s making me nervous because it feels like he knows something I don’t.
It’s not just the bond, Svenn,I almost say.
I want him. And knowing that he wants me too gives me this confidence. I only use the bond as an excuse because my proud brick walls can’t crumble yet.
“Yeah, it’s that strange connection,” I whisper.
“Take whatever you need,” he says, his tender lips part, revealing just a hint of his sharp fangs. I feel a flush of heat sinking lower in my belly.
Walls of bricks, not of straw.
I did build my walls from bricks like my uncle told me to, but they’re full of craters now. They might as well be made of straw. I’m not deluded enough to think that I can change him. It’s like trying to tame a hurricane.
I trail a path from his jaw down to the column of his throat, pushing the boundaries of our agreement.
A groan of pure contentment escapes him. He heaves a heavy breath, letting his shoulder slides. “This is not part of our deal.”
I reach out and sift my fingers through the longer part of his hair, smiling softly. “Should I stop?”
“No.”
I run my hand over his chest and down his abdomen. A low grunt rises in his throat at the touch. “Nel… if you start this, you better have every intention of finishing it.”
“I do.”
We both stills at the sultry sound of my voice. I kiss his eye one after the other. A dark thrill courses through me as I tease him.
Svenn catches my wrist. “Wait.”
Shock rolls into me when he suddenly throws a stone at Ken’s head. It hits him directly and passes through his formless body.
