Page 6 of Reveal Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #2)
Niamh
I walked alongside him, my steps matching his long, purposeful strides.
The plants had whispered that I was just outside the boundaries of the palace.
I could see it from a distance, rising like a looming titan against the horizon.
The towering spires reached up like fingers grasping at the sky, their silhouettes sharp and imposing against the pale blue.
But the man beside me was all I could focus on.
He had the kind of presence that made a woman notice him; solid, commanding, yet somehow calm. A guard. Or at least, I assumed that’s what he was. Who else would be patrolling this area? He was built exactly how I liked them; tall, broad-shouldered, and a quiet strength about him.
His silence was a welcome change. It wasn’t that I minded conversation, but something about his stillness made me want to know more about him, to learn what lay beneath the surface. I didn’t need to know his name. He wasn’t meant for anything more than a momentary distraction, after all.
The world around us was quiet, save for the rustling of the leaves in the breeze.
I let my gaze wander, taking in the wide variety of flora around me.
The plants were fascinating—especially the ones that could kill you.
Some might see it as morbid, but I saw it as power.
A simple touch of mine could make even the deadliest plant bloom with the most beautiful poison.
“This place has more poisonous plants than I’ve ever seen. The variety of toxins is… incredible.”
Guard boy’s gaze flicked to me, brow furrowing slightly. “You’re a fairy?” His voice was deep, smooth, with a slight roughness to it, like it hadn’t been used much in conversation. His words were clipped but not unfriendly.
I raised an eyebrow and pointed to my ears. “What gave it away?”
I smirked, wondering if he really was that dull. There was something endearing about the simplicity of the question. It made him seem... innocent, in a way. I liked that. The dumb ones were often the best in bed, weren’t they? Especially when it came to distraction.
“The plants are similar to what we have where I’m from. I can match every species, every poison with a cousin from Earth.”
“Do you like danger?”
I shrugged. I didn’t feel the need to explain myself. It wasn’t like he was going to get to know me. I had a plan, and a man like him? He was just a diversion. No need for names or unnecessary conversations.
“In the Forbidden Forest, it’s not just the plants that make it dangerous,” he went on.
“It’s the beasts. There are things in here that the world hasn’t seen in centuries.
Things that have adapted to the magic of this world—twisted by it, you could say.
Poisonous vines that move like snakes, trees that whisper your darkest thoughts, and monsters that would tear you apart without a second thought if you don’t respect the forest’s rules. ”
“Sounds like my kind of place.”
“How did you get in there?”
“Trickery.”
“Most who go in never come out. Those who do are rarely the same. The forest takes what it wants. And gives nothing in return.”
Sounded like fate to me. “What were you doing in there?”
Guard boy opened his mouth and closed it.
“Were you coming to rescue me?”
No response save for a twist of that lush mouth of his. I wanted to make those lips twist while he was pressed against a hidden part of my anatomy. A hidden part that was making itself known with how wet it was getting thinking about his mouth.
“As you can see, I’m no damsel. I don’t need a prince to come rescue me. Or a king.”
“I went in to clear my head. I had some troubling news.”
I almost asked him to tell me about it before I remembered that I didn’t care. “Want me to help take your mind off it?”
He turned to me then. His eyes were beautiful. There was intelligence there, but not at the surface. More like he was hiding it.
Didn’t matter. I wouldn’t be here long enough to find out. I launched myself at his mouth.
I had meant for it to be an ordinary kiss, something light, something flirty and fun. That’s not at all what happened. Instead, the moment his lips met mine, everything shifted.
His mouth was pliable, almost too soft. He was giving in to me without hesitation.
As if he expected this kiss. Not only that, he kissed me like he knew exactly what to do with me.
Exactly how much pressure I liked. Exactly how I liked to have my lower lip bitten.
Exactly how I liked being teased by a man’s tongue.
And the taste—oh, the taste of him. It was the richest, most intoxicating thing I’d ever experienced. A pretty poison; smooth and sweet, with a bitter edge that burned at the back of my throat.
I’d meant to sip, to take just a little and let it linger, but the moment his tongue teased me, I found myself trying to gulp him down.
I needed more. All at once. I didn’t even care that I was losing control.
My hands gripped him, pulling him closer, as if I could drown in him and let all my worries wash away with each deepening kiss.
The warmth of his breath mixed with mine. The air between us was thick with electricity. It felt like I was being pulled through a third portal for the day.
I had no idea how long we kissed. Time went from a run to a crawl and then stopped to smell the belladonna as we kissed.
I lost myself in the sensation. I could taste the subtle remnants of his words still lingering on my tongue, but they didn’t matter now.
He was everything I’d ever craved, and I needed him in a way that made my entire body hunger.
I wasn’t thinking anymore. Not about the future. Not about the way he was supposed to be just a distraction. All I could think about was the way his lips fit perfectly against mine, how his hands moved from my waist to my back, holding me like I belonged to him.