42. Ella #2
My heart stutters. Jacob Grimm. His dark, silky hair is swooped back and tied at the nape of his neck in an attempt to keep it tame.
His stubble is freshly shaven away. As he takes my hand, his eyes glint, and I’m sucked into his piercing gaze.
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop my feet as he draws me onto the dance floor, circling his arm around my waist. Pulling me so my chest is pressed against his.
I drink in his scent of deep forests and forbidden moments. It takes me back to the times I should forget. Scandalous midnight rendezvous in the garden. A horseback ride beneath the moonlit forest. Kisses on top of a forgotten fortress as the winds of temptation nearly swept me away.
He whirls me with perfect grace around the dance floor. The two of us are one with the music, leaving me breathless and my pulse racing.
“Last night,” I dare speak, even if it breaks the magic. “You saw who I really am, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” His steps slow, and he focuses on my face, searching me until his eyes land on my lips. My heart soars on wings I know I shouldn’t fly on. We’re on dangerous ground.
“Then why are you dancing with me? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I shouldn’t. My brother warned me to stay away from you.”
I stop mid-stride. “Then perhaps you should.”
“Perhaps I should.” But his grip only tightens as he glances over his shoulder. I follow his line of sight to where the prince is still dancing with Marianne. She’s glaring at me while the prince gazes at us, forehead crinkled.
The dance continues, but when it’s time for Jacob to spin me, he twirls my body, propelling me forward and then whirling me out into the garden.
He drags me into the shadows, away from the silvery moonlight.
Roses climb the stone wall behind me. Their scent drenches the air, but all I can breathe in is him.
We’re alone.
His gaze rakes over me, sending a delicious shiver coiling through my stomach. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, wild with desire as his body looms over me. Large, callused hands clasp mine. Raw need flashes in his eyes, sucking my breath away.
Everything about him is dangerous. My chest rises and falls, too fast. Frantic as a hummingbird. Instinct warns me to flee as his hand slides around my waist, pulling me to him so my breasts are pressed against his chest. Except my body thrills in it, betraying me as it melts against his.
Fiercely, his hand cups the back of my neck, and then our mouths crash into each other’s.
A groan escapes him like he’s been dreaming of this moment, and it’s finally here.
That shatters every barrier inside me. I fist his shirt, dragging him so our bodies are intertwined, because I need more.
My lips part, and he sweeps his tongue against mine until I’m dizzy and breathless.
His lips skim down my neck, leaving behind a heated trail.
He slides his hands down my sides like he’s memorizing me.
I moan at his touch, loving every gentle stroke.
My knees tremble, but his strong arm tucks me to him like we’re meant to be together, no matter what. Or maybe because he’s afraid to let go.
“Ella,” he whispers into my ear. “My perfect Ella.”
My heart soars as my body surrenders to him. There’s no more doubt in my mind. Jacob, wandering nomad, cursed writer, is what I want. Not a prince.
Except…he screams of unyielding power and magic, dripping off him like something from another world. And my heart breaks in two.
“You can never be mine, can you?” I whisper, dragging my body from his. “And I can never be yours.”
“No.” He pushes me against the stone wall, his face contorted in agony as he places his hands against the wall behind me, caging me in. “Ella, you torture me. There must be a way.”
I stare into his eyes and find pure adoration but also unbridled desperation. It undoes me. My fingers reach behind his neck and pull him down to me once again. He kisses me harder, like the world might end, and this is all we will ever have.
And maybe it is.
Finally, he steps away, and my world is cold and empty without him in my arms. He’s panting heavily and tugging at his collar as if he just fought off a horde of werewolves. It takes everything in me not to reach for him again.
“I’m to write your story,” he admits.
“I know.”
“I can’t do it.” His eyes lower to my neck, and he traces an imaginary line along my skin. I shiver at his touch, never wanting him to stop. “I can’t imagine a life without you.”
“There must be a way for us to be together,” I whisper.
The sound of footsteps and someone yelling erupts in the garden. “She can’t be far.”
“Fritz,” I whisper. “He’s looking for me.”
Jacob’s lips curve into a devious smile. “The prince is quite captivated with you.”
“Find her and bring her to me this instant!” the prince yells to his guards. “I won’t dance with another maiden until I’ve danced with her.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” a guard replies frantically.
The footsteps fade, and I sag against the wall.
“You should make him love you,” Jacob says. Even in the darkness, I feel his mood changing as he pulls away, retreating into his hunter facade. “Marry him. He can be your escape from your stepmother. He may turn into a frog from time to time, but it’s nothing that a kiss can’t rectify.”
“So that’s what it’s to be?” I challenge, advancing on him. He takes a step back. As if I’m the dangerous one. “For us to have nothing but stolen kisses? For me to marry this frog prince so you can write us away to your Enchantress’s realm?”
He runs his hands through his hair, cursing under his breath. “Do you think I want this life? Do you think I find joy in it? I live a cursed existence. It’s only fitting I should never find happiness.”
“We make our lives, not live them,” I snap back as fury rises in my chest. “Today I was supposed to marry Dr. Wissen. I didn’t show up to the wedding.
My family will suffer for it, my servants won’t get their wages now, and Claire’s two children, Hansel and Gretel, might even starve because of it.
I could be out there, wooing the prince, but no.
I’m here with you because I’ve fallen for you. ”
His face tightens, and he turns away. “I’m the last man on earth you should fall for.”
My heart stutters, and something inside me breaks. “What are you saying?”
“That you deserve to be a princess.” His eyes are storm clouds. “I can’t give you what you need.”
“When do you get to tell me what I need? You know what?” I throw my hands up, frustration raging through my veins.
“I’m tired of being the doormat, tired of pleasing everyone, tired of trying to do the right thing and failing.
Don’t come to me for stolen kisses. You’ve made it very clear that your curse is more sacred to you than our happiness. ”
With those words, I storm out of the garden, bursting into the brightness of the hall.
My hands shake as I feel traces of Jacob’s hands and lips lingering on my skin, but he can only promise me death in this world.
I smooth down my skirts and set my jaw tight.
Then I stride into the ballroom, making a beeline for the prince.
It’s time to stop dreaming of love. Stop hoping for someone to come save me.
I need to take my future into my own hands.
The moment the prince sees me, he abandons Marianne, whom he was speaking to without a backward glance, and hurries to me.
I curtsy, dipping low, and then look up at him with my most devastating smile. “Your Majesty,” I say coyly. “I know I’ve had my share of time with you, but perhaps you’d dare risk dancing with me one more time?”
I don’t leave his arms for the rest of the night. Or look for Jacob even once.