Page 91 of All the Devils are Here

“You’d disappear and just become part of it.”

Turning my head further into his shirt, I closed my eyes against the tears. Of course. Of course, I’d suggested something that would kill me and undo everything we were trying to avoid. “I’m sorry too,” I whispered.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You were trying to help, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

“I’m so tired of feeling like this,” I said, voice cracking. “I hate feeling weak and helpless, and that’s the only thing I am here. And I know—” I swallowed a sob. “I know all of you don’t care. ButIcare.”

Another brutal truth rose, and I held onto Ariel that much tighter. “How can I have mates and still feel like I’m nothing?”

“Hey,” the word was gentle.

I didn’t look at him, but he guided my face to his, regardless. “You are not weak, and you arenotnothing.” My eyes slid away, and he immediately brought them back. “Do you know how many humans I’ve seen on this island? Who Prospero brought here to try to replace Laurent, or to turn into one of his experiments? They had a fraction of the magic you have in your body and they went mad. Screaming. Broken. Dead in days just like he said. It’s barely even touched you.”

More tears poured over as I blinked, and he wiped them away. “I hate that it’s doing this to me. I don’t want its power any more than it wants me to have it, and all the magic is doing is making me fucking emotional.”

He laughed, but not at me. “It’s true. But you’ve been put into one impossible situation after another, and any normal person wouldn’t be okay. The last thing you are is weak, Meg.”

I wrapped my arms around his ribs and held on, and Ariel held me right back. His lips warmed my temple, and I tried to make my mind blank. To enjoy this and not think about anything else.

Finally, his hand swept down my spine. “Tell me something you love, Meghan,” he said softly. “Tell me something beautiful.”

“This place is beautiful.”

I felt his smile. “Yes it is. But I want to know what you find beautiful. I want to know everything about you. I want to know your favorite colors and your favorite foods. And not just the ones I can conjure with magic. I want to know your favorite memories and the sad ones too. I want to know who you are. And not who you think you should be.”

What could I say to that? It was like my mind went blank of anything I’d ever known. But something… beautiful? “I grew up near mountains. Small ones. In a valley. And in the winter, when they’re all covered with snow, there’s this thing that happens at sunset. When the sun hits them at a certain angle, they turn a shade of pink I’ve never seen anywhere else. And you can never take a picture, because cameras always make it look orange. But it’s beautiful, and I miss it.”

“Maybe I’ll get to see it with you one day.”

“I’d like that.”

Ariel laid me out on the rocks and hovered over me, looking down. “Will you forgive me, mate?”

Reaching up, I touched his face, tracing his nose and his jaw, taking in the darkness in his eyes. “Yes. If you forgive me.”

Tension I hadn’t noticed fell from his face and shoulders. He pressed a kiss between my eyes. “You don’t need my forgiveness, but if you need to hear me say it, then yes. And I need to tell you, I will do everything in my power to protect you. But you are not my property. You are my mate. I don’t doubt that you and I will fight.” One side of his mouth tilted into a smile. “And I look forward to it. But you, and this,” he pressed one hand to his chest and then to mine. “Will always come first. I promise.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close. “I’m sure we’re both going to be assholes at some point,” I whispered. “It can’t be avoided. It’s going to happen.”

He laughed once. “Probably not, no. But I promise not to bethat kindof ass again, no matter how strong my protective instincts.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled and brushed his lips over mine. “This is the part where I seduce you and make you forget everything else.”

I laughed softly to cover the way my breath went short. “Is that why you really came after me?”

“No. I came after you because I fucked up, and it hurts when we’re angry. It hurts when we’re not together.”

Swallowing, I looked up at him and the way he was a silhouette against a gorgeous colored sky. “What does it feel like?”

“What?”

“Me. What do I feel like? To you.”

Ariel’s grin was feral, and he rocked against me. “You feel good, Mate. Like I hadn’t had enough of you.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” I touched his chest. “Here.”

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