27. Callum #3
“Then maybe it’s time for you to change the narrative. When the darkness feels like it won’t let go, just know that starlight always glows brightest in the darkness.”
“Why did you start calling me starlight?”
I smiled as I looked at her. “Because even in the darkest moments, starlight always shines. And I wanted to remind you to shine even when it feels like the world is caving in, surrounding you in darkness.”
“And what happens if I can’t make it out of the darkness?”
“You have faith,” I replied simply, before taking a deep breath and letting a moment of weakness bleed through my words. “But just know that I will always be there for you.”
“Even in the darkness?” she prompted, her eyes searching the depths of mine, seeking answers I couldn’t have possibly had.
“I will always find you, starlight, even in the darkness. But it won’t last forever. Light is coming.”
Whatever it was she was searching for, she seemed to have found it as she leaned further into me, the warm heat of her body radiating across my bare chest. We sat there in silence for a few moments, letting the truth of our words linger between us as our trust in each other grew.
“I’m still mad at you, you know?” she blurted into the silence of the night.
“Really now?” I questioned as I tugged her a bit closer to me. “Because your current position is telling me otherwise.”
Her nose scrunched, the freckles across her cheeks crinkling at the motion.
“You lied to me,” she emphasized. “You let me believe you were a member of the Royal Solis Guard for nearly two entire weeks. I put my sister in danger because I associated with you . . . a spy.”
“I had to,” I stated, tracing alongside her wrist, right where I knew the starbound mark would emerge on her skin, as soon as she was able to let her markings fully break through.
“It comes with my job, you know? But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I put you in that position.
I would never willingly do anything to endanger you or those you love. ”
She shifted above me, and I bit the inside of my lip to stifle the groan of desire building in me at her movement.
“Ah, yes,” her voice sassed as she stared at me. “The job you have . . . as an elite spy for the Aurelian Guild.” Her hazel eyes glimmered with amusement. “The job you’re just so good at, that you got caught doing?”
My eyes narrowed at her words. “We did not get caught.”
“No?” she questioned. “So, I guess it wasn’t the footage of the two of us dancing at Brumalis that caught the king’s attention?”
I stifled a groan. “That stars-damned dance is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.”
“On that, you’re right.” She grinned as she replied. “Not to mention, I saved you by hiding you in my apartment.”
“Once again,” I emphasized, “we would have been fine had I not been distracted while on the mission.”
“Distracted?” she inquired, eyes narrowing at me.
“Mmhmm.” I nodded as I tugged a strand of her hair, letting the loose curls wrap around my finger as I looked at her.
“Distracted.” The word was a murmur from my lips as I took in the female before me, her eyes at half-mast, unruly waves fanning across her shoulder, and my T-shirt sliding off her shoulder as she leaned closer to me.
“By what?” she prompted as she looked down at me, toying with her lip.
“You,” I admitted the word into the night, the three letters lingering in the space between us. Sitting there.
“I’m still mad at you,” she protested as I wrapped my hands more firmly around her waist.
“That’s okay,” I replied slowly. “We can work on that.” I shot her a slight smile as she leaned even closer, the scent of jasmine wrapping around me at her proximity.
I didn’t move, didn’t dare breathe as I held her gaze.
For a heartbeat, she hesitated, her sea-glass hazel eyes flicking down to my lips, then back to my eyes, then back down again as she fixated on them.
I couldn’t move as her entire attention focused on me, her fingers tracing the lines of my tattoos in slow movements.
Then she stopped, her face leaning toward mine as I sucked a sharp breath of air. Her head dropped, our lips inches apart, then she rested her forehead against mine, light and deliberate.
We sat there, our breaths entwining in the minuscule amount of space between our bodies, and it took everything in me not to move, not to close the distance and press my lips to hers in a bruising claim of a kiss.
But I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t claim her before she learned of the starbound mark, before she had the choice to willingly accept me . . . accept a future together.
I pulled my head back, breaking the connection first as her gaze flitted up to me, a mixture of longing, desire, and remorse across her features.
“Don’t mistake this,” she whispered, as she pushed her hands against my chest and stood up, “for forgiveness. I might be beginning to trust you, but there’s still far too much at stake right now, for both of us.”
And stars-damn me if the restraint we both had over the starbound bond didn’t undo me far more than a kiss ever could.