Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

GARRICK

Fucking beautiful.

I can’t remember why it was so important this didn’t happen, and now I don’t care anymore. She’s mine. I’ve claimed her, and she claimed me back. My eyes roam over the perfect contours of her tiny frame as her eyes start to close with heavy lids. I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face as I slide a hand down the side of her hips to cup that amazing ass. A growl rumbles in my throat at the touch and she giggles, the sound heavy with sleep.

Her body goes rigid beneath my touch and I stop. Her eyes fly open. “Garrick,” she says with alarm written in her eyes. I sit up eyeing her up and down looking for whatever has her looking so shocked. My heart pounds as she transforms before my eyes. Where there had been the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on is now a snow leopard. My shoulders relax and I laugh. She can shift . “I guess that answers that.” I say as her body returns to its more human form. Sitting up, she looks down at herself and runs her hands across her chest.

“I… I can shift!” She says as if she hadn’t been sure. I crouch over her on the couch, pushing her body back into the cushions as I crawl my way on top of her.

“Yes you can,” I say before taking her lips in mine. She tastes like summer wine and spearmint, and I don’t think I'll ever be sated.

She shoves me back an inch. “What did you mean just now? That ‘answers’ what?”

“Whether you take after your mom or your dad.” I answer with a smile. “High Fae or Lesser Fae.”

“Wait?” She sits up, scooting to one end of the couch and pushing me off of her. “You know?”

I sit down on the other side of the couch and nod my head. “Yes, and I’ve spoken to your father about it already.”

Her gaze falls to her lap and I can almost see the gears turning in her mind. Fear, anger, and then understanding cross her features in a matter of seconds. “You’re not…” she stops as I cup her face in my hand.

Taking a deep breath, I start to explain: “I’ve been trying to end the division between the Fae peoples. For Felix and his mother… for your mother. It’s a… delicate undertaking. The split between the two runs deep and long, and that’s why I couldn’t take a bride. I couldn’t risk someone trying to stop everything I’ve worked for here. And if the other Lords found out before they were ready…” I sigh and pull Lilly onto my lap, her legs straddling me. “But when I discovered your secret and spoke to your father… and found out that despite his outward performances, he understands … Then I’d have a powerful ally. And more importantly, I’d have you…”

Lilly’s eyes soften as she searches my face, no doubt looking for the truth and finding her answer. Her hands lift to either side of my face. “I love you,” she says. My arms wrap around her, pulling her to me as I kiss my reply into the softness of her lips, her cheeks, her neck, and finally to the healing mark on her collarbone.

“I love you too,” I whisper against her skin. She arches into me, making those little noises I love and I’m instantly hard again. “Fuck, I can never get enough of you.” I grind the words out as she lifts up, placing her self over my pusling cock and I thrust into her. Her head falls back, a moan on her lips, and I know that I was always hers.

The End