The only choice.
“You are. It’s always been you.”
There’s never been more truth between us, even as uncertainty widens the gap. He wraps me in his embrace, biceps straining under impending absolution, and his throaty cries blast my neck. He lurches to a stop, spurting his seed into my ass with a series of grunts and groans—as if the act is as painful for him as it is for me.
“God, princess. You drive me insane. I’ll never let you go.” It’s the closest thing to a vow, reassurance granted during a heightened moment of raw tenderness.
I wish I knew, without a cloud of doubt hanging over my head, that he meant every word.
Chapter Fifteen
The days following the wedding are subdued, the sky dreary as it fights off foul weather. Sebastian and I began our time in this tower separated by a chasm of our own making, letting anger, pride, and insecurities steal five precious days.
Now we’re about to end the month on opposite sides of that same gaping void, more precious time lost, and I can’t stand it. I’m miserable, and I think he is, too. We promised we wouldn’t allow pride to impede our time together, but on the eve of my transition into the House of Virgo, I’m sick to my stomach from missing him.
I tiptoe from my bedroom to his, sleepwear abandoned on the floor, and crawl between his sheets. He doesn’t hesitate, drawing my naked body against his. A sigh stirs my hair.
“We promised we wouldn’t do this again,” I say, snuggling deeper into his embrace.
“Do what?”
“Let our stubborn prides get in the way.”
“I know, but maybe we both needed to cool down.”
I want to press him about Lilith, but doing so will start the vicious cycle again, and we’ll go round and round on a not-so-thrilling ride of jealousy. I don’t want to leave tomorrow with tension between us. Taking the coward’s way out, I shelve the two elephants crowding our relationship and reach for his cock.
In the darkness, I sense the weight of his stare on me as I stroke him. But he doesn’t move, even though he’s as hard as steel, blood and desire pumping through his shaft. A bead of moisture collects at the head, and I drag my thumb through it.
“I want you inside me, not because you’re angry, but because you need it as much as I do.”
He rolls me to my side and spoons me, fitting his groin against my ass as he reaches for the lube on the nightstand. There’s no foreplay or taking it slow. He pushes his slick cock into me, muscled arms holding me tight as he thrusts. The coupling is more about connection than pleasure. Affirmation over physical release.
Tears bathe my cheeks as he slows the pace, one hand on my breast and the other gripping my thigh, pulling me into him as he plunges deeper.
“Don’t cry,” he whispers, lips a gentle brush against my shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. No matter how long it takes, or how many beds you have to visit, I’ll be here waiting.”
I close my eyes and concentrate on him moving inside me, his presence enveloping me in sensual promise. He owns my heart so completely that there isn’t room for anyone else. I never want to leave these arms, never want to separate from the unique way we fit together, like a lock that only opens for the right key.
He launches me into orgasm before chasing his own, and afterward, we remain connected, two souls entwined and dozing through the night.
But morning dawns too soon, and a summer storm wins out, tormenting the sky with melancholy gray to match my mood. Rain beats against the windows in his bedroom, drops squiggling down the glass and obscuring the view. I know he’s awake beside me, lost in thought as I am. Neither of us slept much last night.
“I don’t want to go,” I say, breaking the quiet.
His sigh filters through the early morning shadows, but he doesn’t move.
“Please say something.” I turn to face him. “I’m dying over here.”
“There’s nothing I can say, princess. I can’t keep you here for the rest of the year. God knows I want to.”
I think back to the time I pleaded with Liam to run away with me. The chancellor turned me down because of his duty to his family’s legacy. Does Sebastian feel the same way? Does he love me enough to take the risk? My throat tightens with fear, and when I find the words to verbalize what’s in my heart, they come out shaky.
“Let’s leave the island.”
He rolls to his side and palms my cheek. “I won’t risk your safety.”
“You risk my safety by letting me go to the next house.”
“At least I know you’ll live through it.”
This is about his mother and the curse. “I don’t believe Evangeline Castle hexed us for all eternity. What happened to your mother was tragic, but I lost my parents too, and it wasn’t because of a curse.”