Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Oh wow, make sure to carb up, and you know where to find me when you need a sidekick.”
“Yes ma’am.” I stood on wobbly legs and walked into the inn, my brain exhausted from all the subterfuge, the sex, and the worry.
It would work out.
It had to.
I stumbled onto the bed without taking my shoes off and accidentally hit the alarm clock. The numbers began to rip backward.
“Not again,” was the last thing I said before succumbing to the darkness.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Benjamin
I woke up in the forest, completely disoriented until I looked down. My long green hair was in braids with silver beads worked into several strands. I was wearing my black ceremonial clothes.
What day was this supposed to be?
My head ached as I slowly got to my feet, only to be nearly taken out by a white horse. Its rider pulled back on the reins just in time.
“Christmas!” She swore.
What kind of swear word was Christmas?
“Christmas, stop it now!” The horse neighed and then tapped its hooves against the forest floor. “Sorry, he’s temperamental when he meets new people. Are you headed to the festival too?”
“Festival?” I repeated, genuinely confused until I looked up into her gorgeous blue eyes.
It was Luna.
Damn, she was gorgeous with her long white dress and fur. An icy crown sat on her head, her dark hair braided intricately around and through it, holding it in place.
“Yes.” I looked behind me. “Though it seems I’ve lost my horse.”
This day.
The day we first met.
Was she dreaming this, or was she really here with me? Did she remember past and present?
“You can ride with me if you want, though I can’t promise my horse won’t try to buck you off.”
I smiled. “Then why don’t you lead, and I’ll sit behind you? That way your oddly named horse won’t be tempted.”
She beamed. “Good idea.” She held out her arm. I grabbed it and slid into the saddle right behind her.
I remembered this moment like it was yesterday.
The first time I held her in my arms.
The first time my heart beat her, her, her.
The first time my brain screamed nobody else.
She touched her heels to the horse’s sides, and we trotted the entire way to the village where the annual festival was being held.
Each of the courts brought foods, spices, and spells from their own kingdoms, and this year my clan was hosting for the Spring Court.
Flowers were sewn together in banners of color, creating a near tent as the horse moved toward the entrance.
“It’s beautiful,” Luna whispered.
“What’s your favorite flower?” I asked.
“Daisies.” No hesitation. I loved it.
I flicked my wrist, creating the flower, then reached around her. “My thank you for not allowing your horse to kill me and for providing transportation.”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She took the flower anyway and glanced over her shoulder. “This is my first time in the Spring Court. I’m a bit nervous.”
“Don’t be. The King is a complete ass; the young princes are so full of themselves they preen like the very flowers they create.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened.
“No.” I winked. “Though I’d like to think my brother preens, I just… prowl.”
“Y-you?” She pulled the horse to a stop. “You’re one of the spring princes?”
“Don’t I look like a prince?” I faked indignation.
“Well, yes.” Her eyes narrowed. “How do I trust you?”
“Taste my lips. If they’re bitter, my words are lies,” I whispered. “And if they taste like sunshine, like flowers, the earth itself—you’ll know I’m true.”
Beneath the banner of flowers, Luna Damanta, princess of the Winter Court, leaned in and kissed me.
Her lips tasted like sugar.
And her tongue felt like velvet as it ran along my lower lip. With a sigh, her teeth tugged at that same lip, and she gently sucked.
I could have sworn that the entire world rejoiced with us in that one kiss.
I was lost to her forever.
She pulled back, her eyes unfocused. “You’re mine.”
I’d never been claimed before.
Especially by a woman I barely knew.
But I tasted her lips again, and the sweetness was still there. No matter what happened in this life or the next, she was mine too.
And unbeknownst to the Matchmaker—I had indeed met my match, my equal, my love.
And my soon-to-be curse.
I jolted awake in a cold sweat and saw Aengus peering over me like I’d lost my mind. “You were moaning in your sleep.”
“So, you were just hovering over here watching me moan?” I pressed my fingers into my temples. “Creepy, even for you.”
“No, I was making sure Jasper was still asleep and heard you moaning, so I stopped to make sure I didn’t need to slap you or, at the very least, tell you to stop jerking off and just find Luna already.”
I scowled. “We got in a fight, and then I remembered something but was too exhausted to look into it, which left me here moaning in bed, apparently.”