CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
His hands were still cradling my face, his touch a tether in the storm raging inside me as he pulled back, his thumb traced the curve of my cheekbone, a wisp of a touch.
He searched my face as if collecting the memory of it to savor.
The moment burned into my very soul. Every lingering touch, this was it.
We didn’t have much time left. Whether from my inability to break his curse or my lies, the fact remained the same.
I was going to lose him.
The thought made a fresh sob burn the back of my throat. The realization struck me like a sudden blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. I loved him.
I was in love with a man who barely existed anymore. A man whose body lay hidden somewhere in the cold bowels of this cursed place, while only a flickering shade of his soul lingered beside me night after night. A man I barely knew .
And yet… Every bit of him felt engraved in me.
The way his voice dipped when he was amused, soft and velvet-smooth. The way his eyes darkened when he was angry or afraid or pretending not to care. The way he looked at me when he forgot to guard himself.
Like I mattered.
How could that possibly be real? How could something as maddening, as vast and terrifying and beautiful as love bloom in the space of days?
But love, I was learning, didn’t play by rules. It didn’t keep time or logic. It simply… was.
Maybe I’d been falling from the moment I stepped foot in this damned castle. Maybe the moment I touched the painting and heard his voice, sharp and sarcastic, I’d started unraveling.
And now? Now I was too far gone.
The weight of it settled deep in my chest, thick and heavy, sending a sharp ache through my heart. I loved him . The words echoed in my mind, relentless and undeniable.
No matter how hard I tried, how many nights I spent searching, how desperately I clung to the belief that I could save him, I was no closer to breaking the curse.
What if I failed?
The painting was fading. I could see it with each passing night, his outline a little dimmer, his presence a little harder to hold onto, the rot digging into each brush stroke. What would happen when it disappeared entirely? Would he be lost? Trapped in nothingness forever?
Or worse… would he die?
And even if I did succeed in breaking the curse… what then?
He’d know.
He’d know the truth, that my grandmother had a hand in binding him to canvas and shadow. That she was part of the reason he lost his life, his memories, his freedom.
Would he ever look at me the same again?
I saw my grandmother’s hands tremble as she sealed his fate, afraid of someone that I couldn’t see.
Was she forced? I didn’t know. And maybe I never would. But the truth remained: I was falling in love with a man who deserved a future… and I might be the reason he never had one.
Tears burned at the edges of my eyes, but I swallowed them down. What cruel irony was this? That I, Mia Arden, pragmatic, stubborn, too headstrong for my own good, had let myself fall for a man I could never have? A Duke and a necromancer—two different worlds that had never meant to collide.
And now… I was running out of time.
I had spent my life walking the line between the living and the dead, never truly belonging to either world. And yet, for the first time, I had found someone who challenged me, who made me feel a happiness that I’ve never known.
And I was about to lose him forever.
“Lucien,” I said softly, trying to gather the courage to tell him everything, but I couldn’t force the words past my lips.
Instead, I closed the space between us, pressing my lips to his. Lucien inhaled sharply, and then his mouth softened against mine.
The kiss wasn’t desperate or hurried—it was slow, aching, reverent. A silent promise wrapped in the press of his mouth against mine. His fingers threaded into my hair, angling my head as he deepened the kiss, and I melted into him, into his warmth.
I wrapped my arms around him, my hands desperate to memorize every inch of him and burn it into my heart. His fingers trailed down my arm then moved over my hip, pulling me closer to him.
He kissed the corner of my mouth then trailed his lips down my neck, each one leaving my skin blazing with need.
A low groan escaped him when I pressed myself further into him. It still didn’t feel close enough. I clung to him like he might slip through my fingers at any moment.
His mouth moved close to my ear, his warm breath fanning my skin. “Tell me to stop, Mia.”
I swallowed a moan. Even as the words left his lips, his hand moved over my breast, his thumb stroking the peaked bud so gently, I wanted to cry.
“No,” I managed, my voice barely audible. “Please, don’t stop.”
That was all it took to shatter any morally ambiguous notion he had.
His hands moved over the laces of my corset, precise movements undoing it with ease. His mouth continued trailing fire over my neck, down my collarbone, and dipping to the base of my throat. My mind whirled and my skin felt too hot.
I barely noticed when my dress slipped into a pool of fabric on the floor or when he paused to remove my undergarments. Only when he stepped back and those dark eyes pierced me, running the length of my exposed body, did I almost lose my nerve.
Almost.
“You’re beautiful,” he breathed. I moved forward, shoving away any trepidation. I wanted this. I needed it to remember when he was gone and my heart shredded into a million pieces.
I stepped into his open arms, the warmth of him spreading over my skin. My hands trembled slightly as my fingers moved to the buttons of his shirt. He smiled reassuringly, his hand coming up to steady mine .
“Let me,” he said, bringing my fingers to his lips briefly before…
He flickered.
My heart stopped.
“Lucien?”
He smiled as his form wavered and flickered more. “Shh,” he soothed, then suddenly he vanished. My lungs constricted, my heart pounded, and my legs felt like they would give out beneath me.
“Lucien?” I yelled, panic rising…
Warm, strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind me and his breath grazed my ear as he whispered.
“I’m right here, witch.”
I let out a shaky breath, turning in his arms to face him…
His broad, muscular chest was exposed. My eyes drifted down his body, my breath catching. He was perfect.
I stepped back on shaky legs, letting my eyes move lower. My stomach fluttered when they landed on the mass of his erection. I swallowed hard, a new wave of nervousness pulsing inside of me.
“Is that… will it…” I had so many questions and yet, words wouldn’t form in my brain.
Hells, how would that work?
Lucien’s mouth curved up and a wicked gleam sparkled in his dark eyes.
“Come here, Mia.”
I hesitated and he held out his arms. Slowly, cautiously, I stepped into them, his rigid member pressing into my stomach as he pulled me close.
I stiffened for a moment, but then his mouth was on mine, gentle at first then all consuming.
His tongue eased between my lips, tangling with mine.
I moaned when his teeth gently scraped against my bottom lip and his hand slid over my hip, further and further until he gripped my bottom.
He kissed his way down my neck and I arched against him when his mouth found my breast. My heart pounded wickedly with anticipation and nervousness when he dropped to his knees.
I stared down at him, tangling my hands in his dark waves.
He glanced up at me, our eyes locking for the briefest moment before his lashes fell and his lips touched my stomach.
“Lucien,” I said, his name nothing but a sigh.
He moved further down, his hands gently urging my legs to part. I gasped, shivering with a flush.
“What—“ before I could form my question, his tongue tasted me. I choked on a ragged breath as he lingered there, stroking the sensitive part of me with slow, deliberate movements that made my legs weak. My head fell back and without my permission, I opened wider to him, pressing my hips forward.
“Oh my hell,” I murmured as the pleasure of what his mouth was doing coiled deep inside of me .
He groaned, pausing long enough to back me against the bed. I sank, my legs no longer strong enough to hold me up. He stayed kneeling in front of me, easing me to lay back before hooking my legs over his shoulder.
“You taste like heaven, little witch.” He said, voice dark and heavy. Then his tongue plunged inside of me.
I cried out his name, delighting in the wicked things he was doing to me.
My body felt like it was on fire, every nerve prickling with sensation.
His tongue slid in and out a moment longer before going back to that spot I so desperately wanted his mouth.
My head fell side to side, small whimpers escaping me as my breaths became pants.
Over and over, his tongue swirled and licked.
I arched, pressing my hips into him, needing more.
“That’s it, witch,” he murmured. “Let go.”
I moaned and sucked in small, delirious breaths as the pleasure built higher and higher. I was caught between needing it to end before I died from the sensation and never wanting it to stop.
His hand slid down the back of my thigh, slowly, methodically, then his finger slipped inside of me.
I bucked, my legs falling further open. His tongue flicked over my core as he slowly slid his finger in and out.
His lips closed around my sensitive bud as he sucked, sending waves of intense pleasure through me.
“Lucien,” I cried, rolling my hips against him. I needed… I needed…
“ Please,” I begged, not fully understanding what I needed. I’d never experienced something so torturously wonderful in my life.
He, however, knew exactly what I needed.
Another finger slipped inside of me, moving in and out, curling deep inside while his tongue continued those practiced movements.