Page 79 of Galen
Neither of us moved for a while. I slumped against him and nuzzled his neck as he continued holding me.
“I feel so safe,” I whispered.
“Because you are. I won’t let any harm come to you.”
For now,I nearly said.
Tears stung my eyes. “I don’t want to forget you, Galen. Even when I can go back to my old life for good… when we go our separate ways… I never want to forget this moment right now. Being in your arms. Feeling your wings around me. Even if it hurts, I want to remember.”
Galen held me a little tighter. “Simon…”
“I know you don’t want me like I want you,” I said as a lump formed in my throat. “And I know that I’m a human who will—”
He kissed me. As his mouth moved softly against mine, my heart cracked more and more. It was perfect and painful at the same time.
“Stop,” I said, breaking from the kiss. “I can’t do this anymore, Galen.”
“Do what?”
“This.” I moved a hand between us. “You and me. I really thought I could keep my stupid emotions out of it, but I can’t. What we just did proves it. I’m falling in love with you, goddammit. I think I need to walk away from this.”
“Walk away from me, you mean.”
I tried to get off him, but his wings held me closer. “Galen. Let me go.”
“I can’t.” He pressed our foreheads together. “Not now. Not tomorrow. Or the day after.”
My heart thumped heavier, the beats reverberating all throughout my body. My flushed skin was from the afterglow of sex, but it also heated as I struggled to process his words.
“I swore I’d never let myself feel this way again,” he said, pulling back just enough to grab hold of my chin and meet my gaze. “But I’m tired of fighting it, Simon. Tired of denying that I feel anything for you. If you want to leave me when all of this is over, I won’t stop you.” He leaned in closer, his breath tickling my lips. “But if you want to stay… all you need to do is say the words and I’m yours.”
The vulnerability in his gray eyes took me by surprise. But not as much as the words he’d spoken.
“Even though I’m human?” Hope tried to blossom in my chest, and I shoved it back down. “I’ll get sick. Grow old. Knowing my luck, I might even trip and fall off a cliff or something. Why put yourself through that?”
Galen lowered his wings, concealing them back into his shoulder blades. Their absence made me feel cold all of a sudden. He glided his hand down my side, a faraway look in his eyes.
“Ishouldn’tput myself through it. Not after what happened last time.” He gripped the side of my neck. “Yet, now that I know what it’s like to have you in my arms, I never want to know a day without you here beside me. I crave not only your body, but everything about you. Your smile. Your scent. Even your smart-ass mouth.”
I smiled at that.
“Even if I forced you to leave right now, it’d be too late.” He dropped a light kiss to my collarbone. “It was too late for me the moment I walked into your shop and first saw you. A connection was formed, and it’s only grown stronger. My soul knows yours, Simon.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice hoarse as emotion tightened in my throat.
“It means…” Galen hooked his arms around my waist and rolled me to my back on the bed. He hovered over me, the softest of smiles uplifting the corner of his mouth. I sensed sadness behind it. “I will protect you even if it costs me my own life. I will stay by your side just as I hope you’ll stay by mine. My body is yours. Only yours. No more of this memory erasing bullshit. Even after this threat passes, I ask that you continue living here. I want you, Simon Parks. For as long as I can have you. Human or not.”
They were the words I’d wanted to hear. Proof that he felt the same as I did. “Hmm. I don’t know.”
He frowned. “Explain.”
“That sounded an awful lot like a marriage proposal or something, and I’m not sure I’m ready for such a commitment.” I feigned a sigh.
Galen’s cheek twitched. “Is that so?”
I fought a grin and nodded. “Mhm. I’m still so young, you know? What if some hot stud comes along and sweeps me off my feet?”
“If you wish to be swept off your feet, I can always throw your ass over my shoulder and fly away.”
