Page 82 of Unrequited

“So tonight, we sleep. I get to fall asleep with you beside me. And when I wake, you’ll still be here.”

He kisses me, warm and tender.

“Tomorrow, we’ll consummate our marriage.”

I nod. “All right.”

And suddenly, all the tension leaks out of me. I’m so tired I can barely stand.

But I’ve never felt safer.

My eyes feel heavy. My limbs feel heavy. I can barely move.

“Now lie down in bed,” he says gently before he turns me around and lands a smack to my ass, not soft, not playful. It’s affectionate, yes, but it still stings in that possessive way only he can manage. The heat rises in my cheeks, crawling up my neck. I swallow hard. Because I know there’s more where that came from. More heat. More claim. More Seamus.

“Get up in bed. I want you next to me,” he murmurs. “I want to feel you when I roll over in the middle of the night.”

His voice is almost a growl now, like he’s been starving for this, starving for me. His eyes darken, clouded with that storm I know lives in him, that pain he’s always carried.

“I’ve dreamt of this,” he admits.

And there’s weight behind those words. Heavy, thick weight. Pain and longing twisted together. “Every time I wanted to escape that prison,” he says. “Every time they tortured me… hurt me… I thought of this. I thought of you. Knowing you were out here. Knowing I was going to come foryou. That no matter what they did to me, after everything settled, you were mine.”

His. He says it like a vow, like a possession, like a prayer.

“Now, love, I want you to rest. Close your eyes.” He cups my cheek, his thumb brushing along my skin like he’s memorizing it. “I’m going to tell you a story, see?”

I nod.

He’s going to tell me a story.Seamus.MySeamus. Telling stories in the dark like this? Is this… cute? Does Seamus even do cute? I have a feeling I’m the only one who’ll ever witness this side of him. And I like it. I love it, actually.

“Okay,” I say. “But give me a kiss first.”

He chuckles softly, low in his chest. “Love,” he murmurs, “always a goodnight kiss, aye?”

I tilt my face toward him, and he looks at me like I’m the most sacred thing he’s ever held. His thumb sweeps over my cheekbone again, so slow, so reverent, and then he leans in and brushes his lips against mine, a soft, sweet, easy kiss that still manages to steal my breath.

It’s our wedding night. And we’re not making love. I’m tired. He’s tired. And it’s okay. It’s more than okay.

I rest my head against his chest, and he starts.

“Once upon a time in a land far, far away… there was a man who was a prince.”

I close my eyes. Let myself fall into his voice.

“He was in line for the throne,” Seamus says, “but while he waited, his father’s most trusted advisor betrayed him. Didterrible, wicked things in the name of power. All while pretending to serve the crown. The king trusted him, blindly. The prince tried to warn his father, but he wouldn’t listen because he was younger, less experienced, and the king valued his advisor’s word. But the prince knew,” he continues.

“He knew that the advisor was plotting to steal the throne. And worse, that he wasn’t working alone. There were others. Men who wanted the crown. Men who were willing to bleed the kingdom dry to have it. So the prince,” Seamus says, “lured his men to a place where the advisor believed their enemies were. And the prince did what had to be done. Killed them all.”

My heart stutters.

“His boss, his king, called. Asked if there were survivors. The prince knew that if he told the truth, if he said there was one left, the woman he loved would be hunted down. So he lied. Told his boss everyone was dead. But she lived,” he says softly.

“The woman the prince loved, she lived. He kept his distance. Let her believe he didn’t love her. Took the fall, went to prison. He deserved it. He wasn’t innocent. But while behind bars, he found out she was engaged. That she was moving on.”

He exhales.

“So he escaped. Came for her. But it was all to keep her. All to make her his. And he had a plan,” he whispers. “To take the throne. To rule, with her by his side. And once he had it… he’d make peace with the Russians. He’d do right by her family. And put an end to war. And they did end the war,” hefinishes.