Page 71 of Realm of the Wicked

I grabbed her hands, trying to take a better look at the dirt under her fingernails. ‘Is this soil? Were you trying to fucking dig your way out of the Fringe?’

‘Wouldn’t it be easier if I was?’

My heart cracked, knowing she wanted to leave. I didn’t think she’d ever go without saying goodbye, though.

I pushed away from her. ‘I’m sorry. Truly. For all of it.’

She was quiet, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. ‘I was moving a rose bush.’

I turned, staring at her with open curiosity. ‘What?’

‘The rose bushes. I know you told me not to move them, but this one was so big and the space outside my window was bare and⁠—’

‘You weren’t leaving?’ I asked in a harsh whisper.

‘Did you want me to?’

‘I never want you to leave.’ The truth fell out of my mouth before I could disguise it as anything else.

‘I…’ Stella looked away from me before staring right at me again. ‘I don’t want to leave either. I don’t care what the repercussions of that are. That’s my choice. I’m done letting everyone else decide for me.’

Her words ignited something in me, something that had been simmering for far too long.

‘Bambi, I⁠—’

She held up a hand. ‘I’m staying. Despite what you feel.’

I shook my head. ‘You’re misreading the situation. I’ve wanted nothing more for a very long time.’

‘You have an odd way of showing it.’

I clenched my hands into fists. How could I feel so strongly for someone who made me want to rip my hair out? ‘I’m trying to save you!’

Her eyes flashed. ‘I don’t want to be saved.’

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them to level her with a glance. ‘I’m trying to save you from me, Bambi.’

She chewed her lip. Fuck, I wanted to be the one chewing on it. ‘I don’t want you to save me from that either, Damien.’

Oh, Stella. My heart widened, making space for her, her confessions, her truths. I’d accepted I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off her, but this was different. This felt like more. Maybe one day, there’d be nothing left in it except memories of her.

Stella took a step closer. ‘I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t know if I have since I got here, even before I wanted to.’

‘Don’t,’ I whispered, voice unsteady. Didn’t she know how fragile this thing between us was?

‘I want you, Damien.’ In the dark, in the glow of both the sun and moon, her eyes shone brightly.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her, the words unspoken between us. This wasn’t just physical. This was that invisible thread, the one I’d seen so many years ago. ‘Are you sure?’

She nodded.

‘I need you to be sure before you take another step. So sure. Because one more step, and I’m yours. Forever. For eternity. Maybe even longer than that.’ I laughed quietly at my own joke, unsettled in the deep emotion surrounding us.

It didn’t matter. Because the words hadn’t even left my mouth before Stella was closing the distance, wrapping her arms around me, kissing me like we had the other night. The night I’d convinced myself was just a dream.

Stella was too real in my hands, too solid. Was there a word for getting everything you ever wanted? Satisfaction. Contentment. Nothing seemed strong enough for the feeling of Stella’s sweet lips against mine.

Bliss. Euphoria. Not dark enough for the twisted feelings that were seeping through me as I swiped my tongue against the seam of her lips, enjoying the moan she offered me in return.