Panic leaks through my veins, and I open my eyes, searching the cave. “Tegwyn, come back!”
“I’m right here! Holy shit, Ivy…”
His face swivels into view, and I’m so happy to see him again.
Tegwyn’s face shines buttery gold beneath the soft light of the flickering lamp, and I can’t look away from him. He’s breathtaking.
Once again, he’s the beautiful Fae from my mural, and I reach up, brushing my fingertips along his sculpted cheek. His skin may be coarse, yet he’s still a work of art. Smudged watermarks and charcoal… one day, I will paint him again.
I smile. “Don’t listen to a word they say, Tegwyn.”
He exhales, lifting yet another brow, and for someone so otherworldly, his facial expressions are rather human.
“And what do they say?”
“That you’re evil and you like to eat small children, but you’re not evil. You’re… beautiful…”
He stares at me in stunned silence. Then he throws his head back and guffaws. “Fuck! You really are drunk.”
He rises to his feet, but I yank on his sleeve, bringing him back to the bed. “No. Don’t leave...”
No smart comebacks this time. The faerie gazes at me wide-eyed, lips forming the words that his brain so desperately seeks. His pupils dilate, and he almost looks sweet when they swell up like that. I lose myself in his yellow eyes, and they’re so full of life. This Fae male has enchanted me from the very moment he appeared in my dreams, and one day, I really am going to capture his likeness on canvas.
My eyes rest on his lips. He still has that prominent Cupid’s bow, and I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
I tug gently on his cravat, bringing him closer, and as our lips brush, he jerks away, increasing the ever-growing distance between us.
For a moment, he looks at me baffled, a myriad of expressions flickering across his face. But then confusion soon gives way to anger, hurt, and finally, regret.
Before I can call out his name, he vanishes into the shadows, leaving me totally bereft.
My heart breaks. Herejectedme...
And I only have myself to blame.
I was a fool to think he would ever feel the same, and I bury myself beneath my blankets, hoping I never wake again.
15
Tegwyn
I’mhalfwaydownthemountain by the time I stop, digging my claws into the wall to slow my momentum.
My heart slams against my ribs, as I can’t rid the smell of her sweet honeysuckle from my skin, and she’s already so deep in my veins.
The memory of her drunken face swims up before me, and I scrape my claws down the cave wall, leaving prominent grooves inside the ancient stone.
She tried to kiss me, and I ran.
I’ve never rejected a female’s advances—humanorFae—what the hell is wrong with me? Have I lost my stride?
There’s just something about her that makes me so nervous, and I become tongue-tied whenever I’m in her presence.
My lungs heave like a pair of bellows as I scratch my claws down my face this time, hoping the pain will knock some sense back into me. This was never supposed to happen; I was never supposed to becomeinvested.
Ivy was just a means to an end. I wanted her pretty necklace so I could pawn it off to the highest bidder and leave this godforsaken country. I can’t develop feelings for her.
My heart still bangs against my chest, and it hasn’t stopped pounding since she leaned in for that kiss.
