Page 26

I toss and turn, restless in the comforts of the luxurious bed I lay in. I can’t stop thinking of Westray’s king and Ledger’s devastating disappointment. I had utterly failed them, and that wasn’t a feeling I was used to. It left me feeling raw and helpless, emotions that gnaw at my mental sanity.

I need to find the library and the serenity only books and research can bring. I creep from my bed, the marble floors chilling my bare feet.

The door swings open with a loud creak against the quiet of night. A guard stands at attention on the other side.

“Hello,” I start. “Um, I was hoping you could escort me to the library?” He eyes me warily, taking in my nightgown and bare feet. “I wanted to do some research. I won’t be long. ”

He nods in answer and starts walking down the hallway, his metal armor clinking. I scurry after him, barely closing the door. I follow him down the hallway until he turns and stops in front of two grand doors.

“Uh, through these doors?” I ask, and he responds by opening one. I pass him, walking through. “Thank you.”

I lift my head as I walk into the room to marvel at all the books lining the walls. The library is grand and smells of the pages of old books and lilacs. I inhale deeply. The space is cozy and pristine, not a speck of dust to be found.

“Stunning,” I whisper as I meander further into the space.

My feet move on their own accord, leading me further into the room. My fingers run over the edges of the spines and the preserved wood of the shelves. The library is dim, and a slight breeze rustles my hair.

I realize there are glass doors that open to the gardens outside. There is a sette and a few cozy chairs surrounded by flowers and plants.

It is so perfect I already mourn the moment I must leave. I could lose myself here for a very long time.

“There is no escaping you is there?” I jump at Ledger’s voice, gripping my chest. I missed him sitting in the gardens. He lounges on a settee, a bottle dangling precariously from his fingers.

“That’s rich coming from you.” I stroll over to him snatching the liquor and taking a long swig, sputtering and coughing at the stringent taste. “You have horrible taste in alcohol,” I choke, and his lip twitches as I hand the bottle back.

“Sleep eludes you?” he questions, looking up at the sky.

“It appears sleep eludes us both.”

“Indeed.” His face is blank, his shoulders slumped in defeat. His Adams apple bobs as he takes another long drag from the bottle.

It’s then I realize he is bleeding; his face is swollen, and there is a line of dried blood from his temple to his jaw. His clothes are tattered and bloody. He holds what looks like a piece of crumpled paper in one fist.

“What the hell, Ledger? You’re hurt!” My hands are already glowing as I hold them up. My power purrs at the thought of caressing his skin again.

He grabs my hands and pushes them away. “Leave me, Layla. I do not wish to be healed.” He takes another swig of the amber liquid as my hands drop falling limply at my sides. My power flares angrily with the need to steal his pain.

“Are you going to tell me where these wounds came from? Or what that paper you are holding says? Was our journey here not exciting enough for you?”

He doesn’t respond, instead cranes his head up to the stars. His tongue flicks out to lick some of the alcohol from his full lips, the movement catching my attention. He shoves the paper into his pocket .

“Fine. Keep your secrets.” I snare the bottle from his hand before it can reach his lips and take another mouthful, wincing before forcing myself to swallow.

“I thought maybe there’d be some books in here that could help with healing your father.

” I motion to the library, and Ledger’s eyes drag over the full shelves.

“Was he always sick?” I sink onto the settee next to him, careful not to brush his thigh with my own.

He picks some flowers next to the settee and begins weaving them together like I’d seen him do times before.

“He’s been sick since I was a boy. Never this bad.

He did what his body allowed but there were many limits.

A lot of responsibilities fell on me.” Ledger pauses from braiding the flowers together to take the bottle from me, but he doesn’t drink.

“With my mother gone, I raised my sister. I knew where I had to step up and what was expected of me. I owned what he couldn’t.

Took ownership of things I was far too young and underqualified to do.

I overcompensated where I could to take the attention off of him.

” He sighs bringing the bottle to his lips.

It all makes sense now. Ledger is the epitome of a man who never had the chance to be a boy. A man who makes everyone’s well-being his responsibility. A man who blames himself for the death of his sister, who will blame himself for the death of his father if I fail.

“I’ve been desperate to find a cure for him ever since my sister died. All consumed by it. I suppose if I can save him, it will somehow make up for me not being able to save her.” His fingers tighten on the flowers as he stares at them.

“I’m sorry about your father. And I’m sorry you were forced to grow up too soon.” I fidget under his gaze as it moves to me.

“You don’t believe he is beyond saving?” He looks like he’s holding his breath as he waits for my answer.

“No one is beyond saving, Ledger.”

He pauses before nodding and tying the stems into a pretty loop. He hangs the finished product from his knee. His thumb and pointer finger glide over the petals before he glances back up at me. Taking the flower crown in his hands he holds it up.

“May I?” The question catches me off guard, but I extend my head forward anyway.

A grin tugs at my lips as he places it just above my ears. The sweet floral scent tickles my nostrils and when I look up, Ledger is staring at me intensely enough that I almost blush.

“Beautiful. You’re so godsdamn beautiful.” He shakes his head, the corner of his mouth tipping up.

“I never stood a chance.”

The compliment is unexpected and makes my stomach flip. I snatch the bottle twirling it in my fingers while looking at the dark liquid. “How is strong is this stuff?”

Ledger lets out a laugh and I startle. His dimple pops as he throws his head back. The sound is pure, melodic and makes my stomach flip. It stops me in my tracks .

“I wish it was the alcohol.” His laughter dies as his eyes rove over me, his neck flushed pink from the liquor. “Everything used to be gray before I met you, dull and uninteresting. Somehow, you’ve managed to bring color to it.”

I’m rendered speechless as he slowly grasps the bottle intentionally brushing my fingers before bringing it to his mouth. He sways as he swallows and I reach out to steady him.

“We should get you back to your room, while you can still walk.” I attempt to wipe the smile off my face. “Or before you tell me you love me.”

Ledger huffs a laugh setting down the bottle and pushes up on wobbly legs. “I won’t turn down the opportunity to get you alone in my room.” He staggers forward and I toss my arm around his waist.

“Don’t get any ideas prince, I’m too smart to be seduced by you.” We leave the library and weave through the hallways.

“That’s why I like you.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a lot more fun when you’re intoxicated.”

“So I’ve been told.” He lurches forward as we reach his room and we both almost topple to the ground. The guards standing at attention eye us, and I give them a timid smile.

Once inside, Ledger stumbles backward, shutting the heavy wood-carved door and steadying himself, and I cock my eyebrow. He gives me a knee weakening grin that has me fighting my own back.

I lead him to his bed and sit him down. “Medical supplies—where are they?” Dried blood is crusted on his skin, and I can’t leave him like this.

“In the cabinet.” He nods to the washroom and I jog over. Pulling out some alcohol and bandages from it, I then wet a cloth before making my way back over to him.

I bring it to his jaw and wipe away the crusted blood. Soaking a few cotton rounds in alcohol, I dab them against a shallow cut on his temple.

He winces slightly as his eyes roam my face. I grip his wrist, running another cotton round over the various cuts that litter his forearms. I admire the veins that run the length of them, the dusting of hair over his tanned skin.

He sits still, watching me in silence. I throw away the rounds and eye the cut on his neck that disappears into the collar of his shirt.

“May I?” I ask, eyeing the top button.

“You may.” The sweet scent of alcohol washes over my face as he responds. Though I know the taste from the bottle, I wonder if it would be any sweeter off his lips.

My fingers brush his muscled chest, his abdomen flexing when they sweep over the sensitive skin there.

On the last button of his shirt, my hands tremble.

I carefully lift the torn side, folding it over his shoulder to get a look at the damage beneath.

My knees nearly go weak as I fight to focus on the thin scratch marks on his upper body. His skin smells warm, inviting.

I scold myself. I’d worked on hundreds of shirtless men over the years and never remember being affected quite like this.

My breath hitches as I step between his legs to get a closer look. His thighs hug my hips. I skim the side of his neck with my fingertips, trying to determine how deep the wounds are. They go from his neck to the bottom of his chest but are mostly superficial.

Power trickles out of my fingertips against my will, and I snatch my hand back to avoid going against his wishes.

My cheeks redden as I push my abilities back down. “My power seems to have a mind of its own tonight. It doesn’t enjoy the sight of you injured and likes being denied access even less.” I wet a few more cotton rounds as I speak.

“Your power is fond of me?”

“I suppose you could say that.” I glance up, seeing a ghost of a smile on his lips. I press a cotton pad to the scratch on his neck, and he grimaces. “Don’t let it go to your head. I can assure you it is only because you are always bleeding around me.”

“Mmmm,” he hums back in answer, and it vibrates the air, drawing my attention to his lips, tipped up in amusement .

His power curls out of him in a swirl of smoke. It sweeps over my thighs from where he is gripping his mattress. It is cool and seductive and sends my mind reeling.

“What are you doing?”

I shiver as his powers ripple over me. Such an intense bliss fills my veins I fist my hands to keep myself from clutching onto him.

It hums over my skin much like his voice, in such tantalizing, powerful waves that my eyes drift shut. It’s a welcome caress, a teasing taste of what he could offer.

“Do you like that?” The question is gravelly, seductive and it takes everything in me to respond.

“No.” I refuse to give him the satisfaction.

“Do you want me to stop?” Power curls inside of me, dances over my body.

“No,” I whisper, hardly registering my answer. I blink open my eyes to be met with Ledger’s hooded gaze. My face is inches from his, and I’m leaning into him, chasing more of what he’d just inflicted upon me.

A fiery longing seeps into my veins as he inches impossibly closer, making my heart stutter. “My power is rather fond of you, too.” His voice grates against my skin. He stops, staying perfectly still. I can feel his breath warm against my mouth and shudder closer.

My heart pounds in my ears as he waits for my next move. I cannot do this with him , can’t let this go any further. I must heal his father and get back to Bellehaven. This would complicate things— but I am so tired of denying myself even the simplest of desires.

My tongue darts out, wetting my lips and his eyes dip, tracking the movement. I lean closer until our lips brush.

The small contact makes my head spin. An insatiable hunger I’ve never felt overtakes my body. Ravenous. This man makes me absolutely ravenous.

I wonder if this infatuation, this all-consuming desire, is what my mother had felt for my father. If that is why she had been so destroyed when she lost him.

The thought scares me more than I care to admit.

I let out a sharp breath before jerking away. I force myself to step back, even when my body and power want to rebel against the movement. His power recedes back into him. “I should go to bed.” I avoid his eyes, my trembling hand fisting a bloodied cotton pad.

“What are you so scared of, blondie?” I can feel his eyes on me, blazing a path wherever they travel.

“I’m not scared.” Another lie as I dare a look at him. His face doesn’t show a hint of irritation or confusion. Like always he doesn’t give away much, just an unwavering silent confidence.

“Is it him ? Is that what is holding you back?” He frowns as he asks the question. I can’t deny the feelings Ledger elicits from me, but they feel like a betrayal to Maddox.

I love Maddox. He’s handsome, funny, and knows me better than I know myself.

He’d fought for me so fiercely, and knowing him, he wouldn’t stop until my return.

The kiss we shared proved there could be more between us, that it could easily blossom into something incredible.

But I didn’t know if I could let myself go there.

The newfound desire for Ledger shocks me.

It’s getting harder to deny the connection we are forming.

I’m fighting desperately to deny my feelings because there isn’t a reality where I can stay in Westray.

I have to go back to Bellehaven; emotionally investing myself in this beautiful man will do nothing but destroy me.

I have to keep him at a distance. He wasn’t part of the deal. No matter how much I want him, I just can’t see past the devastation my attachment to him would cause.

“Yes, it’s him.” I say what I believe will deter him and force my foot another step back.

Ledger shakes his head once, his lip barely tipping up. “I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that from the moment I laid eyes on you, I have been painfully uninterested in anything that does not involve you. I need your power, but I want much more than that.”

My heart gallops in my chest and my palms sweat. I struggle for a response as my eyes flick to his door. “It’s late.” I round his bed, and he stands.

“Layla?” he calls as my fingers brush the cool metal of the doorhandle.

“Yes?” I breathe, pausing .

“Do you think you can forgive me for the unforgiveable things I’ve done.?”

“I already have.”