Page 107 of Lost in the Dark

With him bent over me like this, our faces were so close. His handsome face. And those full red lips. It would take nothing to close the distance between us and press my mouth to his, to claim the cambion with a kiss.

But it was over before it began.

Selvyn cleared his throat and wiped a tear from my cheek before straightening as upright as he could in the low tunnel.

“Come. We have a lot of ground to cover.”

He continued down into the tunnel, leaving me to follow behind him.

We walked in silence for a long time. Me stewing over his rejection, and Selvyn lost to his thoughts.

After a while, he started to hum that familiar tune.

That song.

I decided to put an end to this tension between us. “That song. When I was a girl, my mother would always hum that song.”

I could feel Selvyn staring at me as we walked, waiting for me to continue.

“My mother also died when I was quite young. She got very ill and passed, leaving me alone with my father. I think the grief was too much for him. The only thing that seemed to bring him comfort was ale and gambling, and then one day I lost him too.”

Warm fingers slipped into my palm and a clawed finger rubbed the back of my hand.

“I sold off what I could to pay my father’s outstanding debts, but eventually I lost the house and had to resort to…selling my body to keep myself fed.” I took a deep breath. “I’m not proud of it, but I did what I had to do in order to survive.”

Selvyn stopped dead in his tracks and a low growl crept out of his throat. “Don’t ever let that make you feel like you aren’t worthy, Iris. Or that you’re less than,” he snarled. “You’re something precious. Shame on the townsfolk for not seeing that.”

My lips parted in awe ever so slightly, and I could feel the warmth of a blush spreading over my cheeks.

“How are your feet? Are you getting tired?” Selvyn asked as he pulled me closer, the anger that he’d just shown already replaced by a calm mask.

A dull throb resonated from the soles of my feet, one that seemed to worsen with each step we took down the tunnel.

“They’re a little uncomfortable,” I admitted. “I could probably use some rest.”

Before I knew what was happening, Selvyn hoisted me up into his muscular arms, his crouched body lingering over me.

“Selvyn, I can walk. Really,” I protested, wriggling in his grip.

“Nonsense. We’ll stop just around the bend. You rest.”

His chest rumbled with each word he spoke and warmth spread over my body from being pressed tight to his skin. I could feel his muscles flexing with each of his footfalls and a different kind of warmth blazed through me, one that pooled low in my stomach and bloomed between my legs.

“Iris,” Selvyn chuckled. “Do you like being carried?”

Oh no.

Selvyn had sniffed the air earlier.

Could he smell my arousal?

“N-no. Why would you ask that?”

He stopped walking and stared down at me. He arched a perfect black brow and smirked.

Shit.

Warm laughter erupted from his chest that sent me bouncing in his arms.