Heart of the Fae (The Otherworld #1)(88)

His massive hand touched just below hers, fingering where skin met rock. “I didn’t think I would. The crystals prevent anything from killing me. I hung there for three days before they finally cut me down.”

“What did you do?”

“I existed.”

Sorcha shook her head. “Surely it was more than that? Living isn’t a reason to kill someone.”

“It was for my family.”

“Family?” Shock jolted through her body until she thumped back onto her heels. “Your family did this?”

“I told you, the Tuatha dé Danann do not forgive weakness.”

“Weakness? How is this a weakness?”

Suddenly enraged, she surged forward again. Her fingers traced the ragged edges of crystal that bisected his face. She touched the top line at the edge of his shaved skull. “This is the mark of a brave man who has endured much hardship.”

Her finger traveled down to rest just above his brow, “And this is the beginning of a journey.” She trailed over his eye and hesitated at the high rise of his cheekbone. “The mark of self-discovery.” To his lip where the crystal made it difficult to him to smile or speak. “Of bravery.” Her thumb touched his chin, “Of stubborn pride.”

He chuckled, “Stubborn?”

“I recognize familiar flaws.”

“Yes, you are certainly stubborn, little human.”

“So much so that I refuse to give up on bringing you back with me. I have to save my family, Stone.”

He growled, and she shrieked as his arms wrapped around her and lifted her into his lap. Encircling her with crystal and the scent of mint, he stared. “You refuse to give up on this cursed adventure?”

“It’s not cursed. Macha sent me herself! I made a deal, Stone. And I don’t think she’ll let me give up any time soon.”

“Macha,” he grumbled. “She is ever meddlesome. Far too interested in humankind if you ask me.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You shouldn’t have made a deal with Macha.”

“It was the only way to save my family.” She reached up and cupped the good side of his face, leaving the raw edges free to her gaze. “I will not regret making this deal, because it led me to meet the most magical people, a wondrous land, an enchanted place filled with all the delights I never would have seen otherwise.”

He tilted his face in her palm. Light sparked off the edges of crystals and nearly blinded her. “I am glad you will remember this place fondly.”

“And she brought me to you.”

Stone stiffened in her arms, his eyes snapping open, burning into her soul. “Why would you say that?”

“You are the most intriguing man I have ever met.”

“Monster.”

“Man.” She pulled him closer, pressing her forehead against his and tasting mint upon the air. He had endured so much, had survived it, and all she could think was that she’d finally met someone who could understand her.

This was a man who had seen what perceived differences could do, in the most drastic of terms. His own family had condemned him for his appearance and had disregarded his suffering.

She wanted to fix him so much, her heart ached.

“I am sorry life has been so cruel. You should never have suffered, but you are strong and kind underneath all those layers of stone and gem.”

“It made me strong,” he growled, his breath fanning over her lips.

“Oh yes, you are very strong.”

She heard the creaking of his teeth grinding against each other. “You should flee this isle and tuck yourself back into bed.”

“Why?”

“I am not the kind of man you want to fall in love with, Sorcha.”

“Who said anything about love?” She surged up, pressing her nose against his and her chest flush to his crystal shoulder. “My time here is finite, unlike your long-lived kind. All I can ask is for memories that will fill my thoughts with magic. You’ve done that for me already, Stone.”

He growled. “My name is not Stone.”

“Then would you tell me what it is already?”

Her heart stopped as his broad hand pressed against the small of her back. He cupped her head and slanted his lips across hers, pulling the breath from her lungs as his tongue tangled with hers. Heat spread across her skin like a powerful desert wind.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, knees tucked against his ribs. It didn’t matter that the crystals dug into her thighs or that her lungs screamed for air. The taste of mint, lemon, and man coated her tongue and made her lips tingle with new desires.

He groaned, clenching his fist at the back of her head. Her hair tugged, little needles of crystal biting the back of her skull. She should tell him it hurt, but the warmth of his kiss was overwhelming. He didn’t just kiss or taste.

He claimed.

Sorcha gripped his crystal shoulders and let her mind free. She focused upon the feather-light touches stroking the dip of her spine. The lingering pass of sharp crystal and velvet soft lips. The hypnotic rhythm of his darting tongue.

He pulled back, and they both gasped in air. His hands fisted in the material of his cloak wrapped around her, but he did not pull or rip. She thought he might, considering how his hands were shaking.