Page 176 of Cursed Evermore

I was a fool to think I could be seen as anything else.

I was a fool to think he would see me as anything else.

She set the quill down and stared ahead at the gathering shadows cloaking the woods. The 'he' she'd referred to was me. But she was wrong.

I didn't see her the way she thought. None of us did, but I especially did not.

I watched her, a breath away from me, and my resolve thinned like mist in moonlight. One look at her, and I was no longer Death. I was just a male unraveling in the dark.

She inhaled slowly, the soft swells of her breasts rising, pulling my attention to her pale porcelain skin. Even like this, in this simple, innocent state, I couldn't stop myself from thinking of stripping her bare and spending the rest of forever feasting on her.

I still meant what I'd said back on the ship. There would be no going back if I took her, and there would be no end to what I'd take. I would not be gentle with her because I wouldn't be able to hold back. And I'd only ruin her for anyone else because there would beno oneelse. I'd take her virginity and keep her forever, screwing with destiny and the fucking natural order.

In my world,mynatural order, she would always end up with me.

Suddenly, her breath hitched, and she searched around, looking for something. “Wolfe?”

I drew back. Fuck, she could sense me.

She stood and spun around. She could sense me, but just barely. And she didn't know that I was right next to her.

Arielle had mentioned that Elariya's powers had stabilized and grown in just the few days she'd been here. Now I could see it for myself.

Being able to sense another's presence was a vast leap for anyone, let alone after suffering burnout. It made me more curious about what else she could do.

“Wolfe, are you there?” she spoke to the darkness, still searching for me.

I rose, keeping close, intrigued to see what she might do or say next.

“Please, talk to me if you're there.” Her voice broke, each word scraping raw from her throat, weighted with her desperation. “You are such an asshole for leaving me.”

I smirked, relishing that fiery edge to her personality that always managed to hook me. No one else would dare speak to me like that. Arielle and my Bloodsworn barely got away with it, but there were no rules when it came to Elariya.

“If you are here, I just want to know what's happening.” She faced me. While I saw beautiful hazel eyes filled with the anguish of her plea, she saw nothing but shadows before her blending into the night.

Her shoulders slumped, and she dipped her head, moonlight sliding over the silky skin of her elegant neck. Before I could think to stop myself, I reached out and touched her there, needing to feel something real between us before my senses kicked in.

My fingertips melted into her skin, smooth as velvet, soft as cotton.

It was almost unfair. In this state, through the shadowy Void, I could feel her, but she couldn't feel me. She could still sense my presence, but my touch was lost on her.

I didn't have the pleasure of seeing desire cloud her eyes and steal her senses, too. But I had this. This stolen moment away from the obstacles preventing us from breaking our curses.

Hopelessness filled her eyes. The kind I'd seen before on the battlefield when life and death hung in the balance and your next breath could be your last.

“Wolfe, I'm...” Her fragile voice trailed off, and I waited like the Angel of Death for the rest of her words. “I'm scared.”

This was the first time I'd ever seen her look so vulnerable. That she would confide in me,her captor, threw me. Then the reminder hit me that she'd hoped the spell would work, too. To break her curse.

And damn me, for the first time in five years, I thought of something other than myself and my curse and my father's death. I wanted to breakhercurse so she'd have her life back. So she'd remember me.

So she'd remember this...

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers, feather-light and achingly sweet, for a kiss without malice, a kiss without spite, a kiss without pretense. Just raw, honest longing laid bare between us.

It was a true kiss. Not like the first we'd shared or the almost one on the ship.

This was tender, gentle, reverent. Like touching something sacred I was afraid might disappear. Her breath hitched against my mouth, and our heartbeats synchronized in the space between us. I wished she could feel me, too.