Page 115 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

“Better,” he says.

I rest my head on his shoulder. The sun is creeping lower, casting the room in shades of gold.

“I should go,” I say on a sigh.

His grip tightens. “Who said anything about you leaving?”

“I…” I mean, I did, just now. But of course I have to leave. “I have a hotel room.”

“Cancel it,” he says simply.

I narrow my eyes. “My clothes are there.”

He shakes his head, smiling, and pulls my phone from my pocket. He unlocks it and goes to the internet. “Which hotel?”

“How do you always know my password?”

“Your sister’s birthday,” he says. “Easy.”

I grimace, then name the hotel. I watch him dial and put it to his ear, waiting for what seems like a few long moments.

“Ms. P—”

“Prague,” I whisper.

He winces. “Ms. Prague has decided to cancel her hotel room. My associate will be by to collect her things… Yes.” Pause. “Of course.” He glances at me. “They need you to confirm.”

I shift on his lap, sitting up straighter. It’s easy to slip into the voice I developed as Amy. She was lighter, after all. Bubblier. Not a lot of worries. “Hi, this is Amy,” I say. “He’s right, I would like to cancel it.”

“All right,” the hotel employee says. “I will have to charge you for half a night…”

Theo takes the call off speaker. “Put it on my card.”

My stomach flips, and I shake my head. It’s one thing to make me stay here—it’s another entirely to pay for it, too. “Stop, stop,” I whisper.

He ignores me and rattles off his card number.

“Theo.”

“That’s all, thank you,” he says into the phone, then hangs up and tosses it away from us.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say slowly. “I have money. Not my parents’ money, either. I worked. I could’ve—”

His eyes soften. “It’s noble that you’re clarifying. And that you think you forced me to do it. You didn’t. I want you here, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you.”

“I should be freaked out by this,” I admit. “I should… I don’t know. When I left, you had practically shooed me out the door. This is a one-eighty.”

“Because you leaving stomped on my heart.” His hand slides around my neck, cupping the back of it. His fingers move slightly, massaging my tense muscles. “I hate, I hate that it took you leaving to realize how much I need you in my life.”

Tears fill my eyes for the second time. I haven’t had to harden myself against emotional warfare in two years—not that this is anything similar, but I’m just saying I haven’t had to practice self-control.

“You waited for me.” I meet his gaze. “You didn’t think you could love anyone before, you hated our connection, and then I left and the whole thing shifted for you.”

“Yes.”

“But me, Theo? I’m still the same unlovable person. There are plenty of people eager to prove me right. Ask me how many times my parents got in contact with me? Ask me how many friends I made? None. You might’ve gone through some big healing process, but I was living as someone else.” I put my hands on his shoulders and hope he understands me. “I didn’t work through my issues. I ignored them for two years. I’m still in denial that they exist.”

“It’s okay.”

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