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I blinked up at him. The gears in my mind stuck. They refused to turn. No part of me could process what he’d just said.
Arven took a seat on the couch beside me. He leaned back, arms spread across the back of the couch. “I gave up too much of myself for the throne. This moment and every moment to come is about getting that back. It’s about being with you, just like I promised.”
I gaped at the man beside me. “But our strength together. Its what everyone was afraid of. Your throne…you worked so hard for it.”
Nothing I said made any sense. I was cobbling my thoughts together on the fly because they were all crashing together at once while I stared at Arven, looking rather smug and pleased with himself.
“You’re not a tool in my arsenal,” Arven said, inching closer to me. “You were not born to be the source of my power. You weren’t brought to life to make me happier. Just because Locke thought you would help me doesn’t mean you have to.”
“Your brother…” I trailed off, unsure of how I should put my question.
Arven knew where I was going and finished it for me. “Do I trust him? As much as any noble elf can trust a sibling. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here with you. He could have had me killed. Instead, he distracted me with a chance at happiness. I think that’s trustworthy enough.”
“So…” I hesitated. I knew what I wanted, but could I ask him to give that? Swallowing, I pressed on. “So, you’re staying here? With me?”
He laughed.
I jerked back, my face hot with embarrassment. I couldn’t believe how I’d thought that he’d given up his throne for me. It’d seemed like that was the case, but I’d read far into Arven’s words. This wasn’t about me. It’d never been about…
Arven cupped my cheek and turned my face back towards his. I defiantly stared at his chest because I wasn’t about to look him in the eye and let him see the disappointment curdling my stomach.
“Del, we’re furniture shopping together. Of course, I’m staying here with you. If you need me to tell you that every day, then I will make sure that I do just that. It would cost me nothing to spare a few breaths every day to let you know how much I love you.”
This time, my shame felt different. It showed me how I thought everyone would leave me in an instant. I’d been alone for so long that I didn’t trust anyone to stay.
“It’s going to take a while for me to settle into this,” I admitted.
He pulled me closer and pressed an achingly soft kiss to my lips. I gripped the front of his shirt like I might float away in my ecstasy.
“I have forever just for you, Delphine.”
The sound of my name on his breath drove me wild. I almost pushed him down onto the couch cushions so I could straddle him. If it weren’t for the offended cough across the showroom, I would have had my way with Arven right here.
Remembering where we were, I pulled back.
“I love you.” The words rolled off my lips before I could even think to put them back.
Shocked at my own response, I blinked in surprise. Of course, Arven smiled and pulled me in close again despite the offended gasp across the public showroom.
“I love you more, Delphine. I love the wild streak in you that aches for adrenaline. I love how you react to affection from those you least expect it from. I love how you move through this world, as quiet and deadly as a big cat. If you would like, I could go on forever, telling you just how much you amaze me.”
The smile that spread across my face was so wide that it made my cheeks ache. I wasn’t used to the kind of joy unfurling in my heart. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and made me think I would float up to the ceiling if he didn’t keep a hold of me.
This sensation was mind-blowing and frightening and wonderful all at the same time.
I tightened my grip on his shirt. “If you ever buy me a salad for a meal again, I will make sure you regret all of those pretty words.”
He laughed, the sound so light and brilliant that I wanted to drink it down and savor it.
“I love your appetite as well, but that didn’t sound as romantic as everything else I said.”
This time, I yanked him into me and captured his lips with my own. No force in the world could stop me from tasting him right here and now. Like he said, he loved my appetite, too. Right?
“Get a room!” an old lady shouted in the distance.
I could have wrapped a glamour around us so that we vanished from mortal sight. I could have broken the kiss and used the in-between moment to bring us back to the warehouse apartment.
Instead, Arven pulled back and asked, “So, this couch? Is this the one? It seems like a good place for a lot of things. Emotional conversations. Sensual…ah, interactions?”
