Chapter Three

Aspicy scent swirls around me, dragging me toward consciousness. Desire rages through me. My entire body lights up like a livewire, my system overheating.

My eyes fly open on a gasp.

I look up into the eyes of a man I”ve never seen before—one so devastatingly handsome he takes my breath away. His unruly dark hair frames an angular face, complete with piercing obsidian eyes that seem to bore straight into my soul.

My heart races as I stare at him, unable to look away. He”s beautiful, like a wild animal who slipped from his cage and found his way inside.

”W-who are you?” The question escapes my lips before I can stop it. My body feels like it”s burning, a strange heat pooling deep in my core. I don”t understand what”s happening, but it”s still dark outside, and nothing is the way it”s supposed to be.

My confusion only grows when I realize my fingers are between my legs.

Oh my god. I”m naked, my fingers buried deep inside myself. I”m still grinding against them, riding them as if I can”t stop. As if staring at this man has turned me into a wild, wanton thing.

I freeze, mortified by my own actions.

”No,” he growls, a dark command in his voice that reflects in his eyes. ”Don”t fucking stop. Finish what you started.”

I want to tell him no, that it”s wrong. But I can”t find the words. My body aches so badly. Already, my hips circle, obeying him without my consent.

I whimper, turned on and embarrassed. Aching. Why am I acting like this? Why can”t I stop?

Realization hits me like a ton of bricks: this man must have woken me. He broke the curse. That means…that means he”s my destiny, my true love.

I belong to him.

Is that why I feel like my whole body is on fire, and I can”t catch my breath? Because, for the first time in my life, I”m where I belong? The curse no longer haunts me, and I”m free?

”Tell me your name,” I plead, my voice trembling as I try to process the immensity of the situation. I”ve prayed for this man—for this moment—for so long, but I never let myself believe he”d truly come for me.

Yet here he is.

And he”s staring at me as if he wants to consume me alive.

”Troy,” he replies, his eyes still boring into me, impatient, demanding.

”Thalia,” I whisper.

”Finish what you started, Thalia. Now.”

Is it normal to like the way he growls at me? Am I supposed to love that he wants to watch me touch myself?

I don”t know. In this moment, I don”t care. The compulsion to give him what he wants is overwhelming, and I”m helpless to obey.

No one ever told me what happened when the curse was lifted. No one warned me it felt like this—like I was going to vibrate apart with need. But it feels precisely like that.

My fingers begin to move again, driven by the desire to please him, to show him that I accept our fates. To ease the ache growing bigger with every passing moment.

”Good girl,” Troy praises, his gaze locked on my face as I press my fingers deeper and moan. His eyes burn with an intensity that frightens and excites me at the same time.

The connection between us is unlike anything I”ve ever experienced. There”s an edge of darkness to it—something vast and dangerous. But I think I love it.

I thrust my fingers inside myself again, my gaze locked on his face as wet sounds fill the room.

”Good,” he murmurs, watching me as if I”m the most delicious thing he”s ever seen. No one ever looks at me like that. I”m a princess—forbidden. Something unattainable.

Troy doesn”t seem to think so. He doesn”t avert his gaze or treat me like I”m leagues above him, as if he”s unworthy of even speaking to me. He looks at me as if he wants to flip me over and fuck me until I”m screaming.

Maybe I shouldn”t love that, but I do.

How many times in my life have I wished to be seen? To be treated like a woman with needs and desires and hopes and dreams instead of a pretty little princess in a cage?

Too many to count.

I”m tired of being locked up in a castle, caged by a curse. I”m tired of being a pretty little princess. I want to be Thalia. I want to be…his.

My heart races as I pick up the pace, the friction of my fingers against my sensitive walls driving me closer and closer to the edge. A part of me—the obedient little princess—can”t believe what I”m doing, but the larger part, the one consumed by desire, doesn”t care about anything else.

That part just wants to come. Desperately.

”You look so fucking pretty riding your fingers for me, Thalia,” he says.

His words send me hurtling toward the precipice.

As if sensing my impending climax, he slips his hand between my legs, his thumb pressing firmly against my clit.

”Come, Thalia. Now.”

The sudden contact pushes me over the edge. I shatter into a thousand tiny pieces, my body shaking with the force of my orgasm.

I gasp for air, trying to regain some semblance of control over my trembling limbs.

He doesn”t give me much time to recover. He drags my fingers from between my legs, never breaking eye contact as he licks them clean, groaning as he tastes me.

My core clenches, aftershocks ripping through me.

”Delicious,” he whispers, his eyes never leaving mine. ”So fucking delicious.”

I whimper, pressing my legs together.

Good lord, this man is wicked. So wicked.

I try to wrap my head around everything that”s happened since I woke, but it”s too much. All I can do is stare at him in awe.

He stares back for a long, silent moment. ”What should I do with you now, sweet Thalia?”

”D-do with me?”

”You”ve trespassed into my home, made yourself comfortable in my bed.” His eyes still burn with the same intensity that ignited my body just moments ago. ”Came all over my sheets.”

”I”m sorry,” I whisper, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. ”I didn”t know anyone lived here. I”ll leave immediately i-if that”s what you want.” Just saying the words sends a lump into my throat. I don”t want to leave. I want to stay right here with him. It”s where I”m supposed to be. It”s where I”m safe. If he makes me leave, I don”t know what will happen to me. The curse…well, true love is supposed to break the curse. If he won”t even let me stay, can we really call it love?

”No,” he says quickly, his grip on my wrist tightening ever so slightly. ”This is my domain, and you”ll pay the price for trespassing by giving me what I want.”

My heart races at his words, my mind swirling with possibilities. Does he know who I am? Does he want my father”s kingdom? Money? My soul?

”What do you want?” I ask, trying to sound braver than I feel.

”Simple,” he replies, his gaze unrelenting. ”You.”

A shiver rips through me at the way he says it, as if he”s the big, bad wolf and he intends to gobble me up. I think that might be precisely what he intends. I see the darkness in his gaze—the unholy desire raging unchecked. I think what just happened between us is only a prelude to the things he”ll demand of me if I agree.

Is it wrong that I desperately want to know what those things are? If there”s darkness in him, then maybe it”s in me, too, because even now, I ache. I burn. I want.

He”s meant to be mine. My one true love. If I leave now, I”ll never find that with anyone else. If I”m lucky, I”ll stay a step ahead of my father. But I won”t know love. I”ll never be complete.

This man is my dream. He”s my one shot at happily-ever-after. He”s also my chance at ensuring I escape my father”s plans for my future. No prince will ever accept damaged goods. If I give myself to Troy, body and soul, I”m free. No prince. No forced marriage. No tower. No more curse ever again.

”Alright,” I whisper, my resolve solidifying. ”I”m yours.”

His dark eyes flare with satisfaction. He leans down, wrapping his arms around me to drag me up against the hard wall of his chest.

”Welcome to my world, Thalia.” He claims my lips in a possessive kiss, his tongue demanding entry.

I willingly surrender to him, clinging to his broad shoulders as he groans, pulling me closer. He drinks from my lips, consuming me with his kisses. Reality swirls away, replaced by the taste of him, the feel of him.

As we break apart, I find myself craving more—more of him, more of this newfound passion, more of everything.

”What happens now?” I ask, my mind racing with possibilities.

”You belong to me now, Thalia.”

My body responds to his possessive words with a shudder of anticipation.

”You”ll give yourself to me completely, body and soul.” He traces the curve of my hip, leaving a trail of fire behind. His lips brush my shoulder, sending electric shocks through my veins. ”I won”t hurt you, sweet Thalia. But I”m going to fuck you until you think you”re going to break.”

Oh, God.

His wicked words rip through me, awakening a part of me I never knew existed. In his arms, I”m no longer just a princess bound by duty and expectation—I”m a woman discovering her true destiny. It begins here, in the arms of the man I was always meant to love.

I”ve never been so terrified.

I”ve never been so excited.

”Troy,” I whimper.

”I”ll protect you, cherish you.” He nips my skin, slowly driving me mad as his lips trail toward my ear. ”Kill for you.”

I whimper again, my core clenching.

”No one will touch you, Thalia. No one except me.” His teeth sink into the shell of my ear, delivering a delicious little bite that makes my clit pulse. ”But you”ll let me do whatever the fuck I want to do to you, won”t you?”

I should tell him no. It”s the sane thing to do. But I don”t say that.

”Yes,” I moan. ”Anything, Troy.”

”Good girl,” he breathes, his lips curving into a wicked smile against the side of my throat.

I was wrong earlier. This man doesn”t have darkness in him. I think he was made from darkness.

And God help me. I think maybe I was too because nothing he”s said sounds like a bad time to me.

It sounds precisely like heaven.