Page 261 of Cursed Evermore

Gods, his voice. And that smile. Both were dangerous. But I forced myself back to his question. “Desire.”

His smile widened. “You’re learning fast.”

“But you knew. From the other day.”

“Of course. Even though you hate to want me, I knew you’d soon learn you have no choice in the matter when it comes to me.”

I bit back a smile. “I guess you’re right, because I’m here. But…whyam I here?”

His gaze sharpened. “You’re here because I want you.”

“Oh.” The rawness in his tone shot straight to my core, but I pushed past it to ask what mattered most. “But… what does that mean for the princess? For your uncle's plans?"

His jaw hardened, a muscle ticking with something sharper than hesitation.

“I told my uncle I’m not marrying her.” His tone brooked no argument

My heart surged, and hope sparked through me. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” His voice dropped lower, intimate now.

“Won’t that cause… problems?”

“If my decision causes problems, they can answer to me.” A deadly smirk curved his mouth. “I won’t be a pawn in my uncle’s political games.”

He stepped closer, his eyes never leaving mine, not even for a breath. He stopped before me, swallowing the air between us. That heat in his eyes, dark and possessive, pinned me in place. My skin prickled with awareness, every nerve ending suddenly alive.

“I’m glad you have the freedom to choose a wife for yourself,” I murmured. “No one should have their life dictated by political alliances.”

His fingers brushed my jaw, a light graze that made my pulse spike. He tilted my chin up until we were eye to eye. “I turned him down because I chose you, Elariya.”

My mouth went dry, and my knees trembled, threatening to buckle.

“Me?” My breath stuttered.

“You.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips over mine in a teasing kiss.

The intoxication of being chosen, chosen over duty and politics, left me reeling. But what did this truly mean for us?

What did it mean forme?

I was still the daughter of his father’s murderer and still a captive here. On top of that, I wasn’t as perfect or purebred as Princess Seraphina or any of the other Fae women I’d seen. The damned curse alone was enough for him not to want me. Yet he’d chosen me?

“Why… me?” I had to know. It may be silly to question him, but I wanted my heart to remember his answer.

Wolfe’s gaze intensified as if he could see straight through me. Right through to the parts of me that held on to my dreams. “Because there’s no one like you. Because you’re you. Because there’s no one better for me thanyou.I crossed realms to find you. That makes you mine, Ziyka.”

The deepest awe filled me, so powerful I forgot how to breathe. He’d said something similar to me back on the ship, but this…

It was everything my soul needed to thrive.

“I think you just claimed my heart, Wolfe Nightblade.” My chest tightened with the weight of my confession, but relief soared through me at finally being able to voice what I’d been too afraid to acknowledge.

He grinned. “I already told you your heart always belonged to me.”

“You’re right.”

He nodded with confidence and gave me an arrogant smile. “No more talk of this, Ziyka.” He grazed my lips again. “My body misses yours. I called you up here because you’ve been in my head all day. Now you’re going to be under me, taking everything I give you.”