Page 117 of A Hunt Bound in Blood
With his gaze fixed on me, he knocked his tumbler against the side of the desk in his rush to put it down, splashing the liquor across the mess of papers. “No. No, Mrs. Taylor, that’s all right. Thank you.” He stared at me, the pulse in his neck quickening, his breaths speeding up. Then he blinked and looked at his housekeeper as though remembering she was still in the room. “Please feel free to go to bed. Get some sleep.”
The corner of her mouth twitched in a smile that was there and gone. “Of course, sir. Good night.”
She gave me a slight nod, then closed the door behind her, leaving us alone together.
“You’re here.” His words came out in barely a whisper as he came around the side of the desk, but he stopped a metre away.
“So are you,” I managed to reply. My voice came out more wobbly than I would have liked, and I caught myself wringing my hands. I forced them by my sides and nodded to the brandy-spattered papers. “You got what you were looking for?”
He frowned in confusion and followed my gaze, then his eyes widened. “I did. It’s all here. These are copies. The originals are on their way to my father.”
“Congratulations.” I cleared my throat. “When do you leave?”
The frown returned. “Leave?”
“For Karhasan. To take up your mantle. You must be eager.”
His expression cleared, and his gaze landed on mine. “I don’t plan on going back. At least, not to be prince.”
My heart soared, all my hopes tumbling around me like falling snow, catching in my hair and stroking my eyelids. The temptation was great to be consumed by them, but I did my best to tamp them down, not wanting to assume until I had a better understanding of what he meant.
He stepped towards me, his large, graceful body devouring the space between us, until he stood only a few inches away. He looked like he was about to take my hand, but he clenched his fists by his sides instead as if to steel himself.
“I love you.” He said it with such simplicity, such certainty, that the words drove through my middle, a bolt of lightning that lit me up from within and left me breathless.
“I’ve been giving myself excuses to keep moving all my life, never settling,” he continued, inky blackness drifting around the edges of his eyes. “I was raised to believe love was a weakness, but my love for you gives me the strength to tear this whole fucking world apart. I was brought up to believe my people would kneel before me, but my only wish now is to kneel before you. You have given me a reason to give up my wandering. To stay right where I am. With you. If I can draw you out of your library once in a while.” He dropped his gaze, and I tasted his nervousness. “If you’re interested.”
I bit down on my smile, sure that if I allowed it free rein, it would light up the entire room. The entire estate. Any demons in Golthwaine would taste my joy. But not yet.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” I said instead, and nearly laughed over the puzzled expression that crossed his face, my soul warming at the hint of hurt and worry. Without words, I heard his questions. Did I mean to reject him? Turn my back on everything we’d been through together?
With no intention of letting him suffer, I reached out and took his hand. He remained stiff, waiting. “Your estate is wonderful, Cammon, and I could see you maybe, in time, settling down here. But not yet. No, I would much rather we go off and be explorers together.”
Hope blazed in his eyes, so similar to the emotion I’d tucked away that I finally allowed mine to travel through the bond, morphing from a delicate uncertainty into a glowing confirmation.
“Buttons…”
The palm of his hand was warm on my cheek, and I leaned into it. The blackness in his eyes spread across his crimson irises until only a few shots of red remained.
“I turned down the job,” I said. “And I gave up my post on the council. Evaniel could still call me back if there’s an emergency, but I think he knows it would have to be a pretty big one to need me. Especially now that I’ve fallen in love with a demon prince who would stand by me if he tried to take advantage.” His eyes gleamed at my admission, and my smile widened. “The amulet worked, Cammon. The tensions with the fae can settle, and you and I… We can do whatever we want.”
The last of the red vanished, and he tugged me closer, his gaze travelling over my face. His lips glistened with lingering brandy, and I licked mine, wanting to savour it.
“What do you want, Buttons? Where do you want to go?”
Him. Everywhere. Anywhere.
I smiled up at him. “Didn’t you mention something about a dragon-steel sword?”
Cammon’s wings blotted out the light spilling from the wall lamps as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me flush against him.
He nuzzled the tip of his nose against mine and caught my lips in a soft, lingering kiss. “I have a dozen books on the subject if you’d like to go through them.”
“Now that, princeling, is how you woo me.”