Page 7 of Reveal Me (Immortal Vices and Virtues: All Hallows’ Eve #2)

Dion

N iamh’s lips—soft, demanding—crashed against mine, and I almost lost my balance.

For a split second, I wanted to curse fate, curse the timing of this because everything about her felt like a betrayal.

She wasn’t just any woman; she was the woman , my fated mate, and as soon as her lips met mine, I knew. I was not letting her go.

Her taste was intoxicating—sweeter than any honey wine I’d ever drunk, richer than the finest dessert. It made my entire body burn with need. Her flavor lingered on my tongue, a heady mix of sweetness and something deeper, something primal that called to me in a way nothing and no one ever had.

She was a drug, the one thing that would destroy me. She was a cure, the only thing that would save me.

All the women I’d been with before—flings, distractions, nothing serious—they all disappeared the moment Niamh kissed me.

The memory of them vanished in the heat of this kiss.

Her lips erased them from my mind completely.

My thoughts, once clouded with their fleeting attention, cleared, leaving only the overwhelming pull of her; her touch, her taste, the way her body pressed against mine. I wanted more.

She pulled back, just enough to make me think she might end it. I wasn’t going to let her. But no, she dove back in, and this time, I couldn’t hold back a groan.

I cupped the back of her head, pulling her even closer, deepening the kiss.

I knew, I knew with every fiber of my being, that she was it.

There would be no more fleeting moments with other women, no more empty kisses.

This woman, this fierce, intoxicating, beautiful creature, was the one who would own me, whether I liked it or not.

It wasn’t just the taste. It was the way she kissed me—like she knew me, like we were two halves of the same whole.

I felt her urgency, the way she pressed against me, her fingers clutching at my shirt as if she was trying to hold on to something she couldn’t quite control.

She didn’t need to. I’d let her have it all.

The only problem was we both needed air to breathe.

I cursed my empty lungs when we broke apart. My chest was tight. My pulse still racing. I could taste her on my lips, feel her heat on my skin, and all I could think about was that I would never kiss another woman again. She was everything—everything I had always known I needed.

Niamh’s breath came in ragged gasps. Those sparkling eyes of hers were wide and wild.

I realized something else then; she had no idea who I was.

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to tell her or just keep her in this moment, where she was mine and I was hers, and fate didn’t matter.

Because at this moment, she’d chosen me without knowing that it was me.

“Take off your pants, guard boy.”

Guard boy? She’d asked if I worked for the king. It made sense that she thought I was a guard. But she said she knew the king was her fated mate.

“Chop-chop.” Niamh made a hurry-up motion with her hand. “Or do the king’s guards not take orders?”

“You call my king a fuck boy, and yet you’re offering to fuck a complete stranger.” Yes, I know how hypocritical that sounded. Hello, Pot. I’m Kettle Black.

Niamh stared, holding my gaze.

Suddenly, I felt self-conscious. Had I gotten it wrong? “Wait. Sex is what you’re offering. Isn’t it?”

She kept staring, impatience in the corner of her eyes like she was expecting me to cave.

Instead, I kept my pants on and crossed my arms over my chest. “Why don’t you want to be mated?”

“None of your business.”

“My best friend recently found his mate. They’re happy together. In love.”

“I don’t believe in love.” She pressed her lips together. Her jaw worked, and I heard her teeth grinding.

“I think I do.”

“So that’s a no to the offer of free pussy.” Niamh gave a put-upon sigh.

Her exhale slid through the air, and it hit me like a fist to the chest. My muscles locked, my heart thundered.

I shoved the feeling down, burying it deep where I couldn’t feel it.

I couldn’t let it get to me. I turned on my heel, my movements stiff, forced.

I kept my gaze ahead, focusing on the horizon like it held the answer. Anything but her.

I could feel her eyes on my back, burning holes into me. I didn’t turn around. I’d faced beasts bigger than me. I’d lunged into fights with monsters twice my size without a second thought. But this? This was the hardest fucking battle I’d ever been in.

Walking away from her felt like I was cutting off a part of myself, like ripping out my own heart and leaving it to bleed out on the ground.

And yet I did it. I walked away, one step after another, my body fighting against itself with every step I took.

The pain didn’t stop. It followed me, just as she did, until we were out of the Forbidden Forest.

The silence between us wasn’t easy or amicable. The trees hushed, the animals held their breath. The only sound that filled the air was the rhythm of our footsteps—each one falling in sync, even though we weren’t walking together anymore.

The castle came into view ahead. Its stone walls absorbed the sunlight, casting long shadows that stretched over the path. The spires reached toward the sky.

I slowed my pace without meaning to. My feet dragged a little as we came to the gates. She came to a stop beside me, just out of sight of the actual guards. I didn’t want them to see me. I wasn’t ready for her to know.

“He’s not a bad man, King Dion. He had a lot of responsibility placed on his shoulders from a young age. I don’t think anyone should blame him for seeking comfort, and a little fun, where he could.”

She didn’t respond. I don’t know what she could’ve said to make me feel better.

I didn’t know what else I could say to erase her opinion of me.

So neither of us said anything. I turned away, heading around to another entrance while she walked toward the gates, into my home but completely out of my reach.