Kingdom of the Zodiac

Chapter 52

Leaning back against the door, I moaned up at the ceiling as Hale pressed hot, open mouth kisses to my throat. I'd been adamant about withholding sex as a form of punishment for all of his wrongdoings, but then he'd crushed his lips against mine, and all of the anger and hurt roiling in my gut vanished. 

Now all I could think about was his hard length pressing against my belly, and the throbbing ache it created between my thighs. 

"So... am I forgiven?" Hale murmured into my hair as he slowly traced his fingertips over the swell of my breasts. "Or do I have some more apologizing to do?" He thrusted his hips forward, grinding his pelvis against mine suggestively.

Alarm bells started ringing in the back of my mind, shouting for me to run. I needed to get out of here. I couldn't think clearly, not with him this close, not when the promise of what he planned to do to me simmered in his dark eyes. 

As much as I wanted him to throw me against the nearest wall and fuck me until I couldn't remember my own name, my fear of abandonment had me running scared.

When Liam first brought me to the Zodiac Kingdom, I was just a lost girl, desperate for someone to fill the void inside me. I hadn't expected to have found love, because I didn't expect that I'd meet someone like Hale. He'd been just as broken as I was; A king, who was dying to be seen as more than a monster covered in scars.

I needed him, just as much as he needed me, but the idea of giving all of myself to him terrified me. Because in the end, he would leave me, whether he wanted to or not.

I chewed my lip as I contemplated what I should do. Should I run, and end things now? Or, do I give in to this thing between us and subject myself to the unbearable pain I would surely face? 

Not that it mattered, because neither of those options would save me from inevitable heartbreak.

Staring into Hale's eyes, I searched his face as he studied me. The green in his eyes shone brightly in the darkness, and I swallowed hard, trying not to fall under their spell. 

"What's wrong?" He whispered huskily, his forehead creasing with concern. 

He lifted a hand to stroke the side of my face, and I decided right then and there that ending things now would be much less painful than the alternative.

Running it is.

My eyes shifted around the room, looking for a quick escape. The window across the room looked promising, but without knowing how far of a drop it was to the ground, I could very well die in my attempt to flee. Although, I was Fae now, and the fall would probably not kill me. Probably.

Once my mind was made up, I adverted my eyes back to my mate. I met Hale's glowing blue stare and a silent head shake, realizing that I'd been caught. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he lifted his lip and snarled, "Don't you fucking dare."

I glared at him then drove my knee between his legs, aiming for his balls, but he blocked it with ease. 

Blue sparks shot from his hands, zapping my arms where they gripped my biceps. "Ow!" I bellowed, fighting to break free from his grasp. I tried to knee him again but this time he stepped forward, herding me back into the door so I couldn't move.

"You can't run from this anymore, Novalee. I won't let you."

Baring my teeth, I lunged at him, only to be slammed back against the door. "Get off me you fucking psycho!"

"Stop trying to run and I will," he stated calmly, shifting his weight back slightly.

"I wasn't going to... " Hale's expression hardened and I swallowed my words. He knew I was lying. And the only way he was going to let me go was if I admitted the truth. "Ok fine! I was going to run. Happy now?"

"Why?" His voice wavered. 

The hurt in his eyes tugged at my heart and I felt the overwhelming need to take his face between my hands and kiss every one of his scars. But instead, I turned my head to the side so I didn't have to look him in the eye. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," he encouraged, gently running his warm hands up and down my arms, as if he were trying to coax it out of me. 

Releasing a shuddering breath, I willed myself to let it all out. All my fears, doubts and insecurities-everything I've worked hard to keep locked up inside-now rising to the surface.

"Anyone who has ever cared about me has abandoned me. My birth parents... Andy...Whether they intended to or not, they left me. I needed them-to guide me, support me, love me-but in the end it didn't matter what I needed." I swallowed past the lump in my throat and continued. "And when you told me you loved... when you said you..."

"When I told you I loved you," he supplied.

I nodded, continuing, "When you told me how you felt, it scared the shit out of me. Because the truth is, I was already falling for you, and I'm afraid that love won't be enough. Eventually, something will happen. And I don't know if I will be able to go through all of that pain again."

His brows pulled together in a frown. "You think I'm going to leave you?"

I glanced up at him through lowered lashes and nod silently before lowering my eyes back down to the floor. "Maybe not by choice but..."

He stayed silent for a moment, then grasped my face between his palms and forced me to look him in the eyes. "I am not going anywhere, Novalee. Do you hear me?" His hands shook with controlled rage. "Don't you ever, for a second, think otherwise."

"But -"

"I love you." Hale growled and shook his hands again, causing my brain to rattle around in my skull. "Do you hear me you stubborn, infuriating, unbelievably beautiful female? I fucking love you. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you, and I will continue to love you, until our bones have turned to dust. Even then, my soul will still love you." Hale smiled as he cradled my snot covered face between his calloused hands. "There is no escaping it, no escaping me. I will never let anything, or anyone keep up apart. Even if I have to face a thousand armies, travel to the ends of the earth, or look the God of Death in the eye and tell him to go fuck himself, I will. Because you, my little Firefly, are everything to me."

I sniffled as I searched the depths of his beautiful eyes. "Promise?"

Hale's features softened as he leaned in to press a tender kiss to my trembling lips then lifted a scarred hand in front of my face and held out his littlest finger. Wetness gathered on my cheeks, and I let out a shaky laugh as I reached up and hooked my pinky with his. 

He tightened his finger around mine, and squeezed. "Promise."

He said it with so much love and conviction that I actually believed him. He really would do anything to keep us together. And for the first time in a long time, I had hope that everything would work out.

Suddenly, a flash of blinding white light exploded between us. I hissed and threw up my other hand to cover my eyes. "What the hell is that?" 

Hale remained eerily quiet, and a wave of fear washed over me.

Squinting, I lowered my hands and gasped when I saw that the light was coming from where our fingers were still linked. 

Hale's eyes were wide, and something like wonder crossed his features. "I knew it," he breathed, his lips pulling back into a breathtaking smile.