Page 70 of Princess of Bael

Not that I admitted it to him.

Out loud I just said, “Not bad.” But inside, I was melting. Because, dear realms, it was delicious.

I kept repeating everything he’d said in his office, too, his almost-an-apology a heavy topic that weighed down my thoughts. He’d provided a viewpoint I hadn’t wanted to consider—his point of view.

“I never even considered your feelings because I knew it wouldn’t hurt you.”Yet he went into that situation knowing full well what it would do to him. And I’d seen the evidence of his suffering over the last few days. He was not the Archangel I’d mated four human decades ago.

He was… irrevocably changed.

Weakened, but stronger at the same time. Like he’d lived through a lot more than I had, and he’d gained some sort of clarity in the process. An intelligence I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

Or maybe that had always been him.

We hadn’t spent much time together before he’d abandoned me. I hadn’t even realized the purpose of our bond until he and my father had spelled it out for me. And by then, it’d been far too late to do anything about it.

I’d spent millennia hating Ezra, creating this monster in my head meant to be slayed.

But sitting across from him now, watching as he finished the final bite of a delicious meal, all I could see was a man.

My mate.

Beautiful. Otherworldly. Strong. Intelligent.

It could all be a trick of the imagination—a hopeful thought of a young girl who wanted her knight to be real, to save her from the darkness of Hell.

He’s playing me again, I told myself.Don’t fall for this. It’s an act meant to subdue me until he shows his true intentions.

That was the voice of the female I’d become. Because of him. Because of what he’d done to me.

And it very quickly drowned out the hopeful girl inside me that longed for him to be real. To actually mean what he said.To be my mate.

But I didn’t have a mate.

He’d abandoned me to my fate.

And he would do it again just as soon as it suited him.

His gold irises flared with knowledge, making me distinctly uneasy. Sometimes I wondered if he could read my mind. Or perhaps it was my body language he understood.

Because he grinned as though he welcomed whatever challenge I’d lay at his feet.

However, rather than speak, he stood and cleaned up the kitchen. I didn’t thank him for the food. He didn’t ask me if I wanted dessert. We just fell into a charged silence filled with violent undertones. Like we might engage in a battle at any moment.

It caused the hairs along my arms to rise.

I glanced around, searching for any weapon I might be able to use against him, and inwardly cursed for leaving myself unarmed in his presence.

Except that violent air quickly morphed to something else as he faced me again. His gaze was ablaze with a furious energy that froze me in my chair, my breath halting in my lungs.

Not violence,I realized, thinking back on the undertones I’d misread.Savage need.

I felt it swirling around me, choking me with the power of it.

Our bond wasstarvedfor physical touch. My veins throbbed with the desire to sate this connection between us, my thighs clenching with the yearning to feel him inside me.

Oh, demons,I whispered to myself.I need to escape.

Because if I didn’t, we’d give in to this growing energy, this intoxicatingneedto recharge our link. I’d ignored it for the last few days, trying to forget Ezra’s kiss. But it haunted my dreams, waking me at early hours and heightening the illicit craving inside me.