He opens his mouth to most likely argue with me that I’m not safe with him, but I’m not having it.
“I proved myself more than capable tonight. I’m safe. I trust you,” I plead confidently.
His eyes scan mine for any sense of doubt.
I look him dead in the eye, challenging him in the only way I know how.
Ever so slowly, he lowers his lips back to mine, close enough that they brush against mine but not close enough that he’s actually kissing me.
I suck in a deep breath, waiting for him.
“I trust you, too, my queen. I trust that you’re strong enough, strong enough to handle me. To truly be my equal.”
His kiss lands, and then he’s devouring me like he’s been waiting for me his whole life. When his lips press against mine, I realize I’ve been waiting for him, too.
The jacket that was my lifeline protecting what was left of my modesty is tossed to the ground, and I wrap my arms around his neck to keep from immediately grabbing onto other areas of his body that seem far too quick to be touching.
But after Isolde cast that spell on me, I’m horny as hell and desperate for that kind of connection. I’m still not sure Ambrose is going to give me this after denying me so many times before.
“Your thoughts are loud,”Ambrose says into my head while smiling against my lips.
I blush.“I didn’t say anything.”
“You did, my queen. You did. And don’t worry, I’m not stopping until you’re completely satisfied tonight.”
“Promise? Because we’ve come close before and—”
His lips crash in a demanding kiss that has me stumbling backward before he grabs my hips and stops me from tumbling to the ground. All of his body is pressed against me—his lips, his hard chest, and his long, thickening cock is stretched between my legs. His hand roams up and down my body, warming me from the swell of my breast down to my hip bone.
“I’ve never wanted anyone more,”he says while simultaneously kissing me as hard as physically possible. And then he pulls away, leaving me gaping for more. “I’ve never wanted anyone more. If you want this, then I won’t stop it—not anymore. I won’t deny either of us what we want. I want you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you at the offering. It’s been torture to deny either of us,” he says.
I’m speechless; I don’t know what else to say. I’m grinning from ear to ear, not believing that this incredible man, this alpha, is mine. That I can finally have him. Nothing else can come between us, not anymore.
I’m confident that we are mates. I can complete the marking ceremony whether I can shift or not. There is nothing left that can get in our way.
The way Ambrose looks at me is like he’s never seen anyone so perfect. Like I’m the thing he’s been searching his whole life for, and he can’t wait to claim me fully. There might be a marking ceremony later, but tonight is the night we make itofficial. Tonight is the night that we decide for ourselves that we are mates. We are enough for each other.
“But you might not want me to fuck me once you find out the truth,”he says through the bond.
I frown.
“Nothing will make me not want to fuck you,” I say out loud instead of silently in his head. He needs me to hear that I want to fuck him as much as I needed to hear him speak the words out loud.
“Ask me.”
I narrow my eyebrows at him as he grips me harder, like he’s fighting with himself. He’s holding onto me desperately like he thinks I’m about to bolt.
But I’m not sure what he wants me to ask.
“Ask me. Ask me the thing you’re most curious about. You already know Emeric and Rowena’s curse. Ask me mine.”
I swallow hard, and my heart beats rapidly. I’m terrified to ask, but I don’t want him to know that. I want him to think that whatever he has to tell me, it will be okay. Because it will be.
I take a deep breath, calming my body in his arms.
“I want you. Whatever your curse is, we will deal with it together. It won’t change what I want.” I kiss him passionately, sweeping my tongue across the seam of his lips to prove my point.
His expression doesn’t change. The fear in his eyes doesn’t leave. He hesitates for just a second and then says, “My curse is I can’t fall in love. If I do, they die.”
