“What will happen if I don’t give in to it?” I whisper.
For a moment, just one, he tenses, pain flashing across his face. “Nothing would happen to you. You would go on with your life, and I would make sure I’d find a way to stay in it. In whatever capacity you’d allow me to.”
“And what would happen to you?”
He gives me a small sad, yet serene smile. "It would ruin me.”
It doesn’t bother him. And that bothers me.
I shoot to my feet and step in front of him. “What do you mean by that? How can you accept that so easily?” I shout.
His smile only grows. He traces my jaw with his hand, making a shiver ghost down my spine. Then he gently pushes my hair over my shoulder, sending it cascading down my back. And even though he’s barely touched me, I crave more. It isn’t just physical, it’s past my flesh, my bones. I crave more with every fiber of my soul.
“Because that’s what love is.”
I tremble from his words. “You can’t... you can’t love me. You don’t know me.”
His smile is full now, iridescent, reminding me of the sun. “It would be my greatest gift to know you for the rest of my life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t love you now. No matter what you want, what you choose, your happiness is the most important thing to me.”
I shake my hands in the air, rattling them in the same way he’s rattled me. “And what about your happiness?”
“This is it. Sienna,” he says softly, grabbing my hands, brushing a sweet kiss over each. “I want you. I will always want you. From the moment I was created I was always meant to be yours. And finding you? It’s the greatest gift the gods could have ever given me. If I am lucky enough to have you in my life, to become your partner?" his voice quivers as his eyes soften at the sides, swimming in warmth and hope. "That would be the greatest gift you could ever give me.”
I can't breathe.
The weight of his devotion crashes over me, and I have to turn away before I drown in it.
But he pulls me back. His hand unsteady as he cups my cheek, drawing my gaze back to his. He runs his thumb over my skin in the softest caress, as if I'll crumble from anything more.
Maybe I will. Maybe I should. All of this is too much. Too sudden, too fast, and yet it’s what I’ve always wanted.
And when I peer into his eyes he seems just as lost as I am. His gaze is filled with so much awe and wonder for me that I begin to cry.
His face falls. “Sienna, I?—”
“Please... don’t.” I lean into his touch, nuzzle his hand as I hold it to my cheek. I can’t figure out the whirlwind of emotions this man has brought out, but I don’t want him to think he’s hurt me.
“I’m not sad... I’m...” A small chuckle escapes me and I shrug. “Well, I don’t know exactly what I am. But it’s good. It’s just all of this? You? It’s all unexpected and I don’t really know what to do or how to feel about it.”
His eyes search mine and once he seems convinced of whatever he was trying to find, he nods. “Is there something I can do to help?”
It’s such a simple question, and yet it makes my heart ache all the same. "That's..." My voice cracks. "No one's ever asked me that before."
I didn't even know I needed to hear that until he said it. Didn't know I was starving for someone who would think to ask instead of assume. Offer instead of take.
My whole life has been spent being what other people needed me to be, and yet this man considers me, wants to assist me, be there for me. The stark contrast between him and those I held close and bent over backwards for is night and day.
His brows furrow, his hand tensing around mine. His voice is low and deep. "Then they were fools."
I snort and mumble, “Maybe they weren’t the only ones.”
He tilts his head to the side. “Are you talking about yourself?”
I nod, the words spilling out of me before I can stop them. "I spent my whole childhood trying to be enough. Nothing I did was ever right for my parents. I was always too loud, too quiet, too much, not enough." The words sting, even now. "I was an embarrassment to them, a disappointment.”
His hand tightens around mine.
"Then Aubrey was born—my little sister—and suddenly I had purpose. She looked at me like I was her hero, like I mattered. She was the only one who ever..." I swallow hard. "The only one who made me feel like I was worth something."
