153: Coping with his heart - Egon's POV

Coping with his heart - Egon's POV

Stopping when she asked him to was nothing short of a miracle. But then, weren't miracles Healer's specialty?

I'm beginning to adopt some of her traits.

Leaning his back against the tree, feeling no pain whatsoever from the pressure on his scars, Egon closed his eyes.

Was I foolish for resisting this from the start?

He had grown tired of resisting. Even if all he had to offer her was his own personal hell.

He opened his eyes and gazed at her flowing hair while the breeze playfully caressed it, his stupid smile lingering on his lips that had been on hers just moments ago. She nestled closer to him, seeking refuge against his shoulder. His arm enveloped her, exerting the gentlest touch possible, while his other hand pressed lightly against her knee.

He inhaled her enticing scent and held it as long as he could, filling his lungs with her. A garden of jasmine. That's what he would cultivate around their home, for that was what she smelled to him.

The softness of her dress beneath his fingertips tantalized his senses. He longed to see her completely exposed, with no barriers to hinder his gaze or his touch. The flames of passion that enveloped them as they kissed brought him a pleasurable ache, and he longed for her to moan for hours beneath him with just that. 

She was his first, she would be his last. And the moment that followed their fiery union was bittersweet.

She turned back, her green eyes smiling, and he held his breath. This wasn't just another one of his fantasies about her; this was real life. She looked genuinely happy, and a surge of pride swelled within his chest, knowing that he was the one responsible for her happiness. He took a hesitant breath, wanting to claim her lips once again.

If he kissed her now, nothing in the world could stop him from going all the way. The two knights who stood at a distance, guarding her, would have to be dealt with. They seemed lost, unsure of where to direct their gazes anyway.

Instead of leaning in for another kiss, he brushed his fingers against her soft cheek and asked, "Are you alright?"

Just like her heart did every time she heard his voice after a period of silence, it quickened its pace, causing him concern. She closed her eyes, giving him a moment to admire her moist, red, and slightly swollen lips from their passionate encounter. Her long lashes cast a shadow on her prominent, kissable cheekbones.

"Yes," her voice resonated musically.

Hell.

Unable to resist any longer, he drew her face closer and planted a lingering kiss on her soft cheek which carried the scent of jasmine. When the kiss came to an end, she opened her eyes, unveiling a broad smile, her teeth gleaming white beneath the waning sun.

These precious moments were their last for at least the next few hours.

He pressed the side of his cheek against her forehead, feeling the slight prick of his stubble against her tender skin. Unable to resist leaving more of his mark, he grazed his cheek against hers a few times. Satisfied with the immediate flush of warmth beneath her skin, he looked down at her forehead.

Unlike permanent bite marks that he would never allow his fangs to leave on her, there were certain marks that were acceptable to leave behind.

"May this peace between us last forever," she prayed, her eyes fixed on a pair of swans in the nearby pond. "Can we stay here forever?"

No.

"We can stay as long as you like," he lied.

The soft gasps she let out as she softly laughed sent small shocks through his body. He thought he had become accustomed to the effect she had on him after spending nearly two nights with her by his side, holding her should have been easier.

It should have been enough. But it wasn't.

He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, "...Adelaide,"

"Yes?" She raised her gaze to meet his, her eyes peeking out from beneath her long lashes.

I am captivated by you.

"...I've never felt like this before," he said as casually as possible, avoiding direct eye contact.

"Egon," his name rolled off her tongue in a way that could unravel him. 

I have to talk to her father tonight. 

Her button nose was so close to his, and he couldn't resist brushing them together a couple of times. The breeze carried more of the jasmine scent into his nostrils.

She was heaven on earth.

She could be his undoing.

"My head is spinning," he managed to say, describing the whirlwind of emotions he felt.

Her fingertips grazed his chin, back and forth, as he spoke, sending shivers straight to his groin.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" she asked, her eyes fixed on his chin, tracing a line over it.

"It's not, we are together,"

"...These words... I've been waiting to hear them," she said in a soft voice.

If only you knew.

"...I want you to know a few things, Adela... Ever since I came back to this place..." he continued, his gaze focused acres away in the distance. "...Since the day you risked your life by stepping in front of my carriage, everything in my life has been turned upside down."

She giggled, and he smiled, remembering the first time she tried to run away from him.

"You're quite the fast runner," he picked on her for running so slow, but she took his statement seriously.

"I recognized a hunter and believed I had to flee for my life."

He wished her words were false, but they were undeniably true.

"...The comfort I felt around you surpassed anything I had ever experienced with Rauul... It was the reason I followed you in the first place."

She tensed.

He nodded to himself. "I knew it from the very beginning."

She pulled back slightly to look at him, and he wished she wouldn't.

"What did you know from the beginning?"

Stop being a coward. It's bad enough that she beat you to it.

"...That I would fall in love with you," he finally confessed.

The wilderness in her eyes transformed into darker shades as her irises dilated, as if he had revealed something extraordinary.

Welcome to my world of misery. 

"...I tried to fight it with all my might," he said, recalling the countless nights he ran to the edge of the Kingdom only to return to her by morning. "I lost."

She placed a soft, small hand on the side of his face, and he mirrored her action, his palm covering much more of her face. She eventually withdrew her hand and nestled into the side of his neck, taking a deep breath.

He throbbed with desire.

"...It was all in vain," he admitted with a few nods. "I can't be without you anymore."

Gone were the days when he lived with an empty void in his chest.

Now he just had to embrace having a heart again.

As if taunting him, she pressed her ear against his chest, right above the organ that beat for her inside him. While he continued to gaze into the distance, his hunter's instincts sounded an alarm in his head. A moment later, his eyes caught sight of his brother galloping on his horse with a tormented expression on his face.

He clenched his teeth. "You must go back before it's too late. I will come to your room tonight."1

"Tonight," she repeated, sounding both sad and embarrassed, yet hopeful. But his eyes were already tracking his brother's rapid approach.

Time to wake up, Egon.

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