Every flicker of candlelight that ran across his face made him more captivating. I could see the way the muscle in his neck
twitched. I could see how his strong forearms looked as if he had been chopping down trees all day. When he turned, my eyes
travelled to his behind and down his robust looking legs.
It was as if every romance novel hero was inspired by him.
“There is no other woman I want.”
His voice filled with desire and seduction. I was lost, memorised by his entire being. I’d never met or witnessed any Fae
like him. I didn’t even know if he was truly a Fae. Someone who could wield magic like him had to be something more—
something greater.
“I bet you say that to all the girls you try to seduce in the woods.”
He chuckled a small laugh before clearing the space between us in a flash. He leaned in closer to me, pushing my back
against the piano. I swallowed my sudden nerves. His scent surrounded me. The smell of pine needles and fire filling my nose.
He was intoxicating.
“I only say these things to one girl and the sooner you realise that…” he trailed off, pulling a loose hair from behind my ear
and twirling it.
It was the same way Dorian had done it. In an instant, the light behind my eyes turned on. I slapped my hand against his
chest, and started pushing him away.
He looked at me lost, confused, and a little hurt. I didn’t intend to push him away. I enjoyed these flirtatious moments and
the way we endured each other’s words. But my heart pounded in my chest, and the ringing in my ears returned.
I was back at the tree line, with Dorian’s hand running up my thigh. I could feel the panic rising in my chest like it had in
that very same moment. I knew it was just in my head this time, but I couldn’t stop my body from reacting to the memory.
I felt lost and he could sense it.
My shadow man. My saviour. He knelt down in front of me, and placed both his hands on either side of my thighs. I could
faintly hear him pleading with me to look at him, to breathe, to dosomething—anything.
“Ornella, what happened? Please tell me.”
I watched as his eyes disappeared behind shadows then quickly reappeared, his body doing the same. Anger flashed across
his face as he searched mine.
“I will destroy every last one of them if I have to,” he declared.
I didn’t know what to say or how to say the words that were at the tip of my tongue. I knew if I asked him, he would take
me away from this place. He would rescue me. But where would he take me? I knew nothing of him. I did not know his name or
where he lived.