Page 70 of Seduced By Darkness

I’ve won.

I’ve finally found her.

I’m never letting her go. Never.

The priestess turns to her. “Do you, Iskvien of Asturia, pledge your troth to the Prince of Evernight? In the name of Maia, in the name of the blessed light, do you promise to pledge your heart and soul to this male?”

“I promise.” Iskvien whispers, and then she promises twice more.

“Now, you’re mine,” I whisper. “And nobody can ever take you away from me. Ever.”

This time, I take my time in kissing her.

Because now, we have forever.

12

Iskvien

Hours later, we lie entwined in each other’s arms. I can still feel Thiago inside me, and his kisses mark my skin, but there’s something to be said for this moment. It was always easier to pretend this was nothing more than lust, and yet it’s these moments that steal into my heart and threaten it.

He says he feels the same way, but….

Everything has happened so fast.

It’s not love. It can’t be love. Can love even be forged in a mere three days?

But it’s something.

I just don’t know what to name it, precisely.

“What are you thinking about?” he murmurs, kissing my shoulder from behind.

“Nothing.”

A pair of fingers grip my chin and then he’s turning my face toward him in order to meet my eyes. “Oh no, Vi. None of that here. Not between us anymore. Only the truth now.”

Rebellion brews in my heart. The only way I’ve survived these past eight years is by locking my heart away and not daring to give voice to the parts of me that matter.

I did that once.

I loved. I begged for love in return. Iwasloved.

And that door was slammed shut in my face as though it never existed.

“Talk to me.” It’s not a demand.

“We barely know each other.” I can’t help feeling the weight of that choking me. “Everything’s happened so fast.”

“Precisely my point. Talk to me.” Thiago shifts a little, until my head is resting on his chest. It’s difficult to manage with our wrists still bound together, but he’s patient. “Let me know you. This doesn’t work if we can’t learn how to share ourselves.”

Share ourselves….My hand stills over his heart. I don’t even know if I can do that.

“Why me?” I finally put a voice to the feelings inside me.

“Why not you?”

“Because I’m the enemy,” I point out in exasperation. Put like that, none of this makes sense. “Because you took one look at me and you decided then and there that you wanted me—”