Page 31 of Savage Prince

I cradle his head and arch into his mouth as he teases my nipples with his teeth and tongue, wishing we could swap bodies, just for a few minutes, so he could feel what he does to me. The way he makes me burn and ache, but also the joy he sends bubbling from the deepest places inside.

Ford calls to my soul, to the eternal part of me that isn’t male or female or shifter or human, to the part that’s everything, all at once. The part that knows that separation is an illusion and unity is truth.

In the mystical realm, all is one.

Making love to Ford affirms that in a way that’s humbling and beautiful and ultimately…destructive.

Ancient myths are full of gods and goddesses that both create and destroy. I should have realized that love could do the same.

I destroyed myself for love.

And now Ford is bringing me back.

I arch beneath him, my eyes squeezing shut as the walls and floors and elevator shafts inside me crumble in the face of the earthquake that is our connection, destroying the barriers between past and future.

FIFTEEN

ford

I sensethe change in Juliet almost immediately.

There’s a rush of heat from her skin and a rippling, surging sensation in her aura. It hits me directly in the chest, knocking the breath from my lungs for a moment.

It’s almost like she’s shifted, but without changing forms.

When she opens her eyes again, they’re still the same sky blue. Her lips are still kiss-swollen pink, and her legs remain wrapped tight around my hips, but suddenly, somehow, everything has changed.

“Growly?” I rasp, before I think better of it. I don’t want to hurt the new Juliet’s feelings with inside jokes she can’t remember, but my gut is already ten steps ahead of my logical brain.

It knows that Juliet,myJuliet, is back, and that she remembers everything I remember, all the good, bad, ugly, and downright fucking beautiful.

“Yeah,” she says, tears filling her eyes as her arms spasm around my chest. “It’s me. I remember. I remember you.”

“Thank God,” I say, hugging her tight as she buries her face in my neck. I roll onto my side, cradling her in my arms as she cries. I drop kisses on the top of her head and apologize again and again, instinctively knowing that this is my fault. “I’m sorry,” I whisper again. “I just wanted you back so badly. I couldn’t help it. Even though it was selfish, and I knew I was a piece of shit for wanting a partner in my pain.”

She tips her head back, lifting her tear-streaked face to mine. “It wasn’t selfish. And this isn’t your fault. It wasn’t pain that brought me back.” She hesitates, clearly struggling with the next part, just like Growly always does when she’s having feelings. “It was love.”

“You love me?” I ask, my throat tight again. “Even when I’m not about to die on you?”

Her eyes narrow. “Of course, I do, asshole. I literally gave my life for you. And when I did that, I wasn’t totally sure I’d be coming back. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

A giddy grin curves my lips. “Iaman asshole. You’re right. And I’ve missed you calling me names and giving me shit so much, I should probably have my head examined.”

Her expression softens. “No, don’t. I like that you like me the way I am, thorns and all.”

“I don’t just like you.” I hug her closer, molding my hand to her ribs. “I love you. You’re the most important thing in the world to me, Jules. Zion, revenge, justice…it all felt hollow without you. I’d never felt so lonely, not even when I was locked in a cage in the dark with only the sound of the IV drip to keep me company.” I tip my head closer to hers. “I don’t want to do life without you.”

“Me, either,” she says, twining her arms around my neck. “And I don’t want to do it without baggage, either. I hate some of my baggage. Really hate it, but…it made me who I am.”

“I get it,” I assure her.

“I love you more with my baggage,” she continues. “And appreciate you more. I understand how scary it is for someone who’s been through hell to reach for heaven and trust it isn’t going to disappear. This me understands how insanely brave you are.” Her eyes begin to shine again. “I want to be that brave, too. I don’t want to push you away or run from what I feel when we’re together.”

“Then, don’t,” I say, bringing my mouth a whisper away from hers. “Let me love you, Growly.”

“I think I will,” she says, kissing me softly as she slides her leg up mine and wraps it around my hip. “And I think I’ll start by delighting your body with my virginity.”

I grin against her lips. “I like the way you put that.”

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