Page 63 of The Nymph Prince

“Eva is teachin’ me how to control my powers,” I explained. “That isallshe’s doing, Lorcan. She and I are not intimate in any way. I didn’t tell you about my meeting with her, because I feared your reaction.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I placed a finger to his lips.

“Please let me finish,” I whispered, saying a silent prayer to the gods that he would believe the truth of my words. “You are all I see, Lorcan. I want no one else. Last night, with you, was the best night of my existence. Do you doubt me so easily?”

“Can you blame me for doubting you?” he asked. Though his tone held a biting edge, it had lessened in harshness. “You keep so much from me, Alek. I understand your hesitancy to trust others, but I am not just anyone. I’m—”

“My soulmate,” I said.

His jaw went slack. “How did you—”

“Eva told me everything,” I interrupted him. “Nymphs and mages once bonded as mates, but most of them were killed in the war and so the stories became nothing more than legend. As much as the idea terrifies me, there’s no denying the truth of it.”

“Why do you fear it?”

“Because I fear losing you,” I answered, deciding in that moment not to hold anything back from him anymore. Years of lying about my heritage and skirting around the truth had exhausted me. If I could trust anyone—fully trust them—it was the nymph. “I avoid intimacy because I can’t stomach the thought of losin’ those I love. If I don’t love anyone, I can’t feel the pain of their loss. And so I closed myself off from love.”

My accent sounded odd to my ears, as I hadn’t allowed myself to speak with such freedom in much too long. But that, too, would no longer be hidden.

“Do you not think I feel the same?” he questioned, uncrossing his arms to grab my hand. “I have not suffered loss as you have, but I still fear it. Why do you think I was so upset when you told me you planned to leave me?”

Knowing we couldn’t move forward until I told him everything, I took a deep breath and sharply exhaled. And then I told him the truth. All of it—the reoccurring dreams, seeing the seer in the last one and awaking to her slicing my arm, the prophecy about a descendent of Haman rising to power. I described the ritual and how I had until spring to prepare for it.

“Eva is helpin’ me with my powers so that I might have a fighting chance when that day comes,” I said before falling silent.

Lorcan was silent, too. His mouth opened and then snapped shut and his green eyes searched my face. When words proved to be out of reach, he stepped forward into my arms.

Sometimes, that’s all that was needed. A comforting touch.

Breathing came easier with him so close, and I pressed my face into his silky hair. As the scent of roses drifted to my nose, tears burned in my eyes, and I hugged him tighter to my body.

He seemed to sense what I needed—to be as close to him as possible. Not out of a need to satiate lust, but because I felt like I was breaking apart, piece by piece, and only he had the power to keep me whole.

Lorcan’s lips found mine, tender and unhurried. With that simple kiss, the cracked pieces of my heart were already beginning to mend. The humming sound I adored reached my ears just as I felt the soft vibrations in his throat.

I made a sound, as well, a mixture between a moan and a whine.

I didn’t deserve the beautiful man in my arms; however, he wanted me anyway. No one had ever known the real me, not even Kellan or Fletcher. They knew parts of me, but I’d kept much from them.

Lorcan knew the real me. I’d laid myself bare to him, body and soul, and I’d never felt more free. More alive.

He guided me toward his bed. No words were said as he kicked off his trousers and made quick work of mine, too. He crawled on top of me and straddled my hips before joining our lips again. He tasted sweet, like honey, and I dipped my tongue into his mouth, wanting to taste more.

My fingers glided toward his backside. As I brushed his entrance, he shuddered and nibbled my lip. A vial of oil was within reaching distance, and after wetting my hand, I began opening him with my fingers. His breathy moans were all the foreplay I needed in order to harden like a forged blade.

“Enough,” he whispered after I’d fucked him with my fingers. “I need you, mage. All of you.”

I coated my palm with oil and gave myself several strokes with it, biting my lip to keep from groaning. Once it was slick, Lorcan took hold of my cock and positioned it at his entrance before slowly sinking down. I couldn’t hold back my groans that time. They were raspy and full of need.

The tight heat of him was intoxicating. The euphoric look on his face as I glanced up at him was even more so.

I kissed the curve of his throat as he moved on top of me. He rolled his hips, and I dropped my head back to the pillow with a deep groan. My hands skimmed his sides as he took what he wanted, how he wanted it.

Lorcan whimpered as his ass clenched around me. His moans were like velvet, and I drove my hips upward, driving my cock into his heat, drawing more from him.

I reached down and pumped his cock, smirking when his release shot from him and landed on my stomach. He was beautiful as he rode the waves of his orgasm. I became so absorbed in watching him that I forgot about my own pleasure.

Determination shone in his eyes as he braced his hands on my chest and quickened his pace, riding my cock until I came apart beneath him.