Page 10 of Reveal Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #2)

Niamh

I ignored the current running under my fingernails, through my knuckles, and into the palm of my hand as it rested on Dion’s arm. At least I pretended to. But I wasn’t fooling anyone — namely myself, who was the only one who knew I was affected.

We walked through the grand hallways of the castle.

The muscle under my fingers was solid, the power of it undeniable.

King Dion moved with a grace that was deceptively casual, but I could feel the raw strength just beneath the surface.

I couldn’t stop myself from squeezing his biceps again.

The way they flexed sent a pleasant heat through me.

I didn’t care if I was in a palace or out in the woods anymore.

He was here with me, and I was still just as drawn to him as I had been when I’d thought he was a simple guard.

I wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him. The silk sheets I’d seen in the room Stella said would be mine while I stayed here seemed like the perfect place for something more than just a flirtatious moment. A quick roll in the hay was exactly what I needed, but Dion wasn’t giving in.

He returned my flirtatious glances with polite nods.

I’d brushed my boobs against his biceps, and he didn’t even have the decency to ogle them.

I’d been manhandling his muscles for half an hour as he escorted me from room to room, droning on about big cats and battles, but I didn’t see a tent in his pants.

What the actual? It was the second time he wasn’t taking me up on my advances.

He had kissed me back there in the forest. He had kissed me like no man ever had. The front of my shirt was turning into headlights at the thought.

Was he just playing hard to get? Maybe my admission outside when I’d been, well, me. Maybe it had rattled him.

We stopped in front of a large portrait that caught my eye. The figures standing side by side were regal and unbothered by time. The resemblance was unmistakable. These were Dion’s parents.

While all the other royal couples in the hall faced forward, stoic and unsmiling, Dion’s parents were looking at each other, their eyes locked with an intensity that made the air around the painting feel charged.

The love in their gazes leapt out of the canvas, so strong that it was almost tangible.

“They knew they belonged to each other since before they could speak. They were fated at birth.”

“So they never had a choice.”

Dion’s brow furrowed as he chewed on my words. “They never saw it that way. They told me the mating bond provided them comfort, knowing that they always had each other.”

I watched him, seeing the subtle shift in his expression as he studied the portrait. He seemed lost for a moment in the memory of them.

“They left this world within days of each other.”

“That’s so sad.”

He turned that cat-bright gaze on me. I felt pinned in place. “They were always together. Always. I’m thankful they still have each other in the world after this.”

We passed through an archway, and he paused in front of a door. With a slow turn of his head, he gave me a sidelong glance before pushing it open. Wait—had those been bedroom eyes?

The room we stepped into was a bedroom. Velvet drapes in deep hues, heavy wooden furniture, and intricate tapestries adorning the walls. It was a room fit for royalty, a perfect blend of opulence and history. The sheets on the bed looked like they’d be a great time to roll in.

Wait. This was my room. The room Stella had shown to me earlier.

“I know my fated mate is near.” Dion sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at me. Once again, those cat-bright eyes pinned me in place, and I remembered that I was face to face with a predator.

“Does that bother you? You know, because you’ll have to give up your playboy ways?”

“Who told you I was a playboy?”

“Word gets around.”

“I suppose you heard about the threesomes at Blood and Beryl?”

“Threesomes?”

“Some threesomes, sometimes foursomes. I’m a magnanimous ruler. And I have a large appetite.”

Of course he did. All the more reason to reject him.

“But that lifestyle will be over once my fated my claims me.”

“You’re waiting for her to claim you? Like you have no say in the matter?”

His sigh was heavy as he settled into the soft silk, clearly deep in thought.

After a moment, he shrugged, the motion slow and deliberate.

“I’ve been running from fate my whole life.

It’s never been very fair. Took my parents.

Took my cousin Stella. Cast her into a harsh life that she didn’t deserve.

And now…now I suspect my fated mate will reject me. Maybe she should.”

For the first time in my life, my tongue was tied. I felt the urge to run. I felt the urge to go to him and comfort him. What I didn’t feel like doing was saying the R word.

“What makes you think she won't accept you?”

“She told me she would.”

Dion’s gaze finally made that circuit down my body. My nipples were waving hello. My belly rumbled. My inner thighs went slick.

“I know I could make her happy in the bedroom. Sonnets have been written about my tongue. But I’m not so sure about the rest of it. About the rest of this life. I don’t know if I can give her what she needs.”

I stood frozen for a moment, my mind reeling from his confession.

Dion, the man who had been so confident, so sure of his place in the world, was afraid.

Afraid of being rejected, of not living up to some imagined ideal.

It was as if he had laid his soul bare before me, and I didn’t know what to do with it.

What struck me more than anything was that, in that moment, it wasn’t the king in front of me. It wasn’t the powerful, untouchable man. It was just Dion. Vulnerable, unsure, and real. For the first time, I saw the man beneath the crown.

“Maybe I’m just too broken for her.”

I sank onto the edge of the bed, the soft sheets shifting beneath me as I settled. His words echoed in my mind, each one like a stone sinking into the still waters of my thoughts. I could still see the vulnerability in his eyes—the cracks in the walls he had so carefully built around himself.

The tension hung in the air, almost as if the very space between us was charged, a buzzing current I could feel beneath my skin. I tried to ignore the pounding in my chest. What was it about this man that made my heart race and my mind go cloudy?

“Tell me, what do you want, Dion?”

The panther king’s golden eyes held something I couldn’t place, a mix of frustration and longing. He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling, before speaking his truth.

“I want to be a good king. A good father... a good husband. I just don’t know how.”

He spoke the words like a confession, like a plea for help.

The weight of his past, of everything he had been running from, appeared to visibly press down on him.

It gave me a glimpse past the king, past the arrogance, to the man who was scared of failing.

He was scared of being inadequate, of not living up to the expectations that had been placed on him his whole life.

I wasn’t sure what possessed me, but I moved closer to him, drawn to the honesty in his voice, to the tenderness that felt so out of place for someone like him. We were so close now I could feel the heat of his body, could smell the faint hint of fur that was from his animal nature.

“Maybe you and your fated mate could learn how, together.”

I couldn’t believe I’d said it out loud. Maybe I wasn’t entirely ready for this, but there was something in me—something I couldn’t suppress—that wanted to reach out to him, to offer him comfort, even if it was just for this moment.

Dion didn’t say anything at first. Instead, his eyes flicked to my lips. I felt a gut-deep pull toward him. We were close—so close I could almost feel the brush of his lips on mine. And then, as if breaking free from some invisible hold, he pulled away from me.

He let out a frustrated breath, running a hand through his hair. “Too bad you aren’t her.”

I froze, my heart sinking into my stomach.

What was he talking about? Before I could react, Dion turned and walked away, the sound of his boots heavy against the floor.

He moved to the door, and just as I was about to speak, he slammed it behind him with a force that made the walls rattle.

The sound echoed in the empty space, louder than anything I could have imagined.