I watched her work, mesmerized, before I cleared my throat.
"The Fae creatures were descended from one of the lesser known demons. They had an affinity for nature and tended to live in forests and fields." My finger moved over the words I had already memorized. "Jax was right. They do live in trees. Or flowers. Or grass."
"And they're extinct, correct?" Z asked, head bent over her own book. A strand of blond hair escaped its ponytail, and I had the irresistible urge to brush it behind her ear. I had to physically clench my hand into a fist to keep from touching her.
"Yes," I agreed. "All of my research is consistent with that fact. They became extinct hundreds of years ago when my ancestors first arrived."
Z nodded, brow creased. She appeared to be deep in thought.
Sitting in the library, that adorable crinkle between her brows, and a book in her hands, I had never seen anyone more sexy before.
"So how is it possible?" she blurted out at last. Finally, she turned to face me, and I was momentarily lost in her eyes. I wanted to reach out and touch her, trace those high cheekbones and those abnormally long lashes. Curve my hand around her neck and pull her towards me.
"How is what possible?" I asked stupidly. She smirked, no doubt knowing the direction of my thoughts.
"How can an extinct supernatural creature come back from the dead?" she spelled out to me. “Unless..." Her finger tapped the bottom of her chin. "Unless they were never truly extinct. Maybe they had somehow survived, living in hiding."
Even before she had finished speaking, I was already shaking my head.
"That's impossible, my love." The endearment slipped out before I could reel it in, and I watched as she grimaced. I tried to ignore the brief stab of pain spearing my chest at that, but it felt like someone had rammed a burning iron rod straight through my heart. Clearing my throat, I continued before she could notice. "The Seven Sins made sure of it."
I pointed towards another book, this one detailing the plague.
The plague that had killed all the other creatures, all the other demons. A plague created by the one of the four Horsemen himself.
Her lips pursed as she read the words I knew by heart. When the plague had struck, it had killed millions instantly. There was no warning. One second they were alive, and the next, they were dead. Humans, at the time, blamed it on a medical ailment brought about by mosquitos. It would take only a few years until they learned the truth.
"So this Fae shouldn't have been alive," she deduced, and I nodded in confirmation.
"It's quite literally impossible," I answered.
For a moment, we were both silent, the only sound the occasional crinkle of paper or heavy volume landing on the desk. Z worked diligently beside me, scanning the words and making notes on a sheet of paper
I, too, attempted to work, but I couldn't help but focus on her. In my element, she was glorious.
"What?" she asked sharply, glancing up. My face burned when I realized I had been staring at her. "Why do you keep looking at me?"
"Because you're beautiful," I answered immediately. Unashamedly. When I was old enough to understand what mates meant, I made a vow to myself that I would constantly shower my own with love and affection. I saw what happened when there was no love between mates. And, on the opposite spectrum, I saw what happened when there was too much. My father was a prime example of the latter.
All I had ever wanted was to meet my mate, to fall in love and have her love me back unconditionally. I wanted to treat her like a queen, my queen.
At my confession, her own head ducked down sheepishly, the tips of her ears burning. She mumbled something unintelligible beneath her breath.
"You don't like compliments," I noted, somewhat amusedly. At that, her head snapped up, and she glared.
"I don't mind them," she stressed. "I just...they make me feel uncomfortable."
"Didn't Devlin or S compliment you when you guys were together?" I asked, quirking a brow. The flush burning her cheeks was answer enough. "They didn't, did they? I'm going to have to talk to Devlin about the proper ways to woo a lady."
At that, a smile cracked through her icy exterior. It was there and gone, the briefest flash of white teeth, before I could comment on it.
"As you probably already noticed, Lupe, I am anything but a lady."
I waved a hand dismissively. "So you like to stab people and kill things. Why does that make you less than a proper lady? You deserve to be lavished with attention and gifts and crowns."
"Crowns?" One side of her lip curved upwards in a crooked smile. I wanted to see her smile more often. Everyday, if I had my choice. She was stunning normally, but when she smiled, she was positively ethereal.
I had once tried to draw her, but even my artist's hand failed to recreate everything that was Z.
"Crowns," I said with a decisive head bob. "Because you're a queen."
A laugh, unbidden, escaped her, and she brought a hand to her mouth to muffle the sound.
Well that wouldn't do...
Taking her small, dainty hand in my own, I marveled at how little she was compared to me. Her pale hand was entirely engulfed by my own darker one. I wondered how she would feel lying in bed, her body against my own and her head in the crook of my neck.
"You need to do that more often," I murmured, tracing patterns on her palm. She shivered delicately, and I resisted the urge to grin like a fool at the effect I had on her.
"Do what?" she asked.
"Laugh."
I was afraid she would run away,
