Page 37 of Ruthless Fae King

I fought the words that rumbled around in my mind. I fought the darkness that threatened to grow stronger and stronger and eventually swallow her whole.

Even though she was aware of the darkness thickening around us like a fog, she didn’t pull away. She cupped my cheek, her fingers resting on my cheekbone, and I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.

Kissing her was like breaking through the surface of the water, and I was finally able to breathe. Kissing her was like wandering in the desert for years without reprieve, and finally, I could rest my aching bones.

Kissing her was like coming home.

I slid my tongue into her mouth, and she met me halfway, her own dancing around mine. I groaned, and my cock punched up in my pants, responding to her closeness. She was so damn beautiful, so attractive, I wanted her. I wanted to strip her of her clothes, unwrapping every inch of her before I tasted her, running my tongue over her skin until she bucked and writhed and gasped beneath me.

She moaned softly into my mouth, as if she was privy to my train of thought and liked what she saw, and I tightened my arm around her, pulling her closer still.

We were twisted together, lost in our kiss, but it was more than that. A part of my power I hadn’t felt in a long time awoke as if from a deep slumber, and her magic rose to the surface, responding to my power. With the power that came from somewhere I didn’t know still existed in me, my darkness rose, too. I tried to push it away—Hazel deserved so much more than the darkness within me, and I didn’t want her close to it.

The magic wouldn’t budge, though, and Hazel’s power wrapped itself around mine. Our power rubbed up against each other as if glad to see the other. It intertwined and twisted together until it became something I barely recognized. My power had never looked attractive, but with hers wrapped around it, twisted into a braid of something new, it looked like it could be something good, something…right.

That didn’t make sense. A part of me marveled at the miracle of what we created together. Was it possible that Hazel and I could belong together despite who we were—whatwe were? Another part of me, the darker part, wanted to yank back and unwrap my magic, detangling it from hers. My need to be close to her won out, and where I’d run away from her the last time, this time, I stayed put.

The darker part eventually won out. As if it had had enough of the power it didn’t want, enough of the light that irritated it, it grew ugly and malicious and yanked me back with an audible crack.

I breathed hard when I stared at her, filled with warring emotions—hatred, lust, desire to inflict pain. Yet, I was also filled with yearning, longing, the desperate want for more of the heat, more of the power that showed a side of me I hadn’t seen in a while—that showed me the side of her I couldn’t get enough of.

Hazel looked up at me with eyes filled with need. Could she feel the darkness? The was no way she could miss it, but it looked like she ignored it.

Now’s the time to take her, if she wants to be such a naïve fool. Go on, show her what she’s missing. Take what you want, she’s practically giving it to you on a silver platter.

She breathed hard, her lips parted, and I wanted to do so much more to her than just sit in the garden and kiss her. I wanted to drag her to my room and take her, claim her, make her my own.

“Join me for a private dinner,” I blurted out in a hoarse voice.

She blinked at me. “A private dinner?”

“Tonight.”

Her eyes searched my face. I shut off whatever I felt, whatever I thought. I would give her the choice, even though it went against my grain. I didn’t usually give choices—I told people what to do. Imadethem do what I wanted them to do.

I didn’t allow myself to feel anything. If I did, I would feel dark things, which I didn’t want. Or I would feel good things that I didn’t deserve. The mixture confused me, so I shoved it all away.

The longer she took to answer, the more I became sure it would be a no. Why would she want to dine with a monster like me, anyway?

Why did a monster like me care about fine dining in the first place? The whole thing was a joke.

I was about ready to turn around and march away, her answer be damned. It was a mistake to have asked at all.

At the same time, I wanted her to join me. I wanted more of this warmth, this peace, this reprieve from the darkness that ruled me more and more.

Hazel smiled and lifted her hand to my mouth, her fingers gently pressing against my lips to silence me. The feel of it calmed me, and I relished in it. I pressed my hand to hers and kissed her fingers.

Pathetic. Soft. Weak.

“I’d love to,” she said. “Thank you.”

I grunted and stepped back, breaking the contact between us. As if the darkness had been holding its breath, I could breathe easier again now that I’d put distance between our magic. I wanted to be around Hazel, but being around her hurt like hell, and I didn’t like it.

I had to figure out which battle in my mind to side with.

Tonight, I would know.

If she’s in your private quarters, you can take what you want and be done with it.

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