Chapter 51 #2
“Because.” Mora inched closer, carefully skirting the breeches he’d left on the floor. “I’m trying to decide what’s hiding among the flowers inked on your arms.”
Eris smirked, the roguish grin somehow endearing. “You woke me to see my tattoo?”
“No, I—”
“Princess,” he cooed, sitting up from his bed. Unabashed when more of his naked form was revealed. “If you wanted to see me shirtless, all you had to do was ask.”
Her cheeks flushed, heat spreading to her ears. “That’s not…” The words died on Mora’s tongue. He wasn’t right, but he wasn’t wrong either.
Eris stood and ran his hand through thick, black hair, the smirk growing on his face when Mora’s cheeks darkened.
Clad in nothing but a tight pair of underwear, his briefs clinging to his sculpted body, little hid from Mora’s imagination—he watched with rapt attention as a dark blush consumed her whole.
She swallowed, her gaze rising to the ceiling. Heart pounding so viciously she wondered how her ribs contained it.
“It’s a snake,” he said quietly, almost bitterly, breaking the distance between them. Eris’s heat kissed her skin, those dark eyes soft when he reached for her. He hesitated when she tensed, but Mora clenched her teeth and lifted her hand, meeting his touch.
Gentle fingers found her, rough calluses scratching her palm.
He lifted their clasped hands to his bicep, guiding her to trace his ink.
Her touch trailed his arm’s muscled curve, before slipping over his pec and settling above his heart, its low, steady thrum fluttering beneath her fingers.
And there, among the flowers, was a snake. Sharp teeth bared. Ready to strike.
It was fascinating. Beautiful and dangerous.
Mora examined the intricate details, mindlessly tracing over delicate shading.
It almost looked real, the snake’s scales cast in perfect shadow behind the flower’s petals.
When Eris’s thumb caressed her knuckles, Mora didn’t flinch.
She liked his warmth. It almost felt... nice.
“Why a snake?” she asked, her stare locked on his chest—she wasn’t brave enough to look into his eyes.
Those slow fingers traced her hand, shivers rising in the wake of his touch. “To remind me.” Cocking his head to the side, he watched her face. Searching those unearthly eyes.
Mora wondered what he saw there. Why he felt enticed to court a monster. To invite one into his bed.
She lifted her chin, breath catching, swaying toward him without thought as she lost herself in his deep brown eyes. They were nothing like the night sky, no glittering gold churning in their depths, but it was impossible to deny their beauty.
“Of what?” she finally asked, her voice breathier than she intended.
With his free hand, Eris pushed a stray curl away from her face, fingers lingering in her hair. “Even the most beautiful things have teeth.”
“That’s very vague.”
He leaned closer. “You’re very pretty.”
She laughed. “Do you say that to every woman you fancy?”
“Only the ones who sneak into my tent in the middle of the night.” Eris’s hand fell away from her face to curl on the hem of her tunic instead. “Why are you really here, Vicious Thing?”
Her lips parted, but she couldn’t find the words. “You never answered my question, why should I answer yours?”
Eris clicked his tongue. “I was sleeping soundly a moment ago, it only seems fair you explain.”
Oh, he was a fool if he thought that would work—if Mora was anything, she was stubborn, a trait she’d earned honestly. A gift from her mother. One she felt more grateful for by the day—it helped her survive. “After you.”
He gave her tunic the smallest tug, ruddy fabric slipping over her legging-clad thighs. “You’re lucky I find you infatuating.”
Mora rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t deny the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Their hands remained clasped, pressed above his heart, his gentle pulse so at odds with the chaos in Mora’s own chest.
For a moment, they stood in silence, sharing their breaths, Eris’s eyes never leaving her face.
Finally, he took a deep breath and began to speak. “When I was eighteen, I met a woman...”
Mora smirked. She had a feeling she knew where this story was going. “Who infatuated you?” she asked, raising a dark brow.
He laughed softly. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
“You have a pattern, Eris.”
“The heart wants what it wants.” Eris moved closer, until his chest nearly pressed against hers, their hands caught between them. That dark gaze staring at her as if she were his salvation. Absolution. The answer to his prayers.
Mora’s heart faltered and she couldn’t decide if it was excitement... or fear.
He blew out a long breath, those beautiful lips dipping into a frown.
“She was above my station, our trysts her little secret, but I was deluded enough to think she would one day become my wife. I thought I loved her... I won’t bore you with the details, but one day we got into a particularly heated argument and, surprise, surprise, my lover was a Halfling.
I have a talent for nearly losing my head around you all.
” A quiet laugh barely left his throat, cut off by a heavy sigh.
“Her father was a cruel guard who hated her kind, and I knew he’d hurt her if he found out.
Damn him, he probably would have killed her; it was a miracle she’d kept herself hidden for as long as she did.
I started looking into ways to protect her, and...
” He swallowed. “I met some people who promised they’d take her somewhere safe, but only if I never told a soul.
She left with them years ago and I assumed that was the end of our story. ” His face darkened. “I was a fool.”
Shadows lingered behind his eyes. Had they always been there, quietly haunting him, Mora too distracted by her own demons to notice? “What happened?” she asked, wishing she could take the pain away.
“Years later, a man I’d never met showed up at my door.
” Eris’s upper lip curled. “He knew everything. Where I lived, what I did, the name of the woman I’d helped whisk away, unbeknownst to the father who continued to search for her, believing the worst. For gods’ sakes, he knew the names of my fucking siblings too; she told him everything!
Even gave him the letter I’d written as my final goodbye.
” He squeezed his eyes shut, his throat working.
“That bastard extorted me. Threatened to tell her father I was the one responsible for his daughter’s disappearance, unless I did everything he wanted.
He had enough of her things; I knew the guard would believe him.
The power he had, Mora... I can’t begin to explain how fucked I was.
What choice did I have but to listen? To do everything in my power to protect my family?
” Moving her hand to trace the snake’s fangs, he dipped his chin, those brown eyes boring into hers.
“It was a lesson. A terribly cruel one. I did everything for her, and that pretty little thing betrayed me. Never again will I forget to look for the snakes among the flowers.”
“Oh,” Mora breathed.
“Yes,” Eris said, tipping his head lower.
“Oh, indeed.” His breath fluttered on her lips and Mora found she couldn’t move.
Her body frozen. The incessant thrum of her hammering pulse crowding her senses.
“That’s what I like about you. You’ve never hidden your darkness from me.
From anyone. I know exactly who you are when I look at you. ”
She looked back at the snake, wondering if they were one and the same. “There’s a lot you don’t know.” Mora’s voice was quiet, but it hardly mattered. There was so little space between them.
Eris smirked. “Like how you came here to have your way with me tonight?”
The heat in her cheeks was a roaring flame, burning her skin. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
Raising his other hand back to her cheek, he brushed his fingers along her jaw before they lingered on her chin. “How would you put it?” he asked, guiding her to look back up at him.
“I...” Mora swallowed. “I don’t know.”
“If you want, you can show me instead.”
“How can I—”
Eris broke the distance between them, his lips caressing hers in the gentlest kiss.