I let out a breath through my nose. “You did, but you were desperate. It was wrong and you shouldn’t have done it, but I forgive you. I forgave you the night you told me why. I love you. I want to stay with you.”

His hands gripped my elbows as though he could save himself from falling.

“I can’t give you anything but this broken-down castle. You’re a princess. You’re the brightest light in the sky, Rowan. You deserve so much more.”

I leaned in closer, our noses almost touching. “I don’t care,” I whispered. “I have everything I need if I have you.”

He held so still it was like a spell had frozen him to ice, and if he moved, he’d shatter into a glittering pile at my feet.

“Gods, I love you too,” he said a heartbeat later and then he pulled me onto his lap and crushed his mouth to mine so hard, our teeth clashed and our noses collided, and I moaned because this kiss was the sum total of all of our longing. This kiss blew all the rest away.

My legs straddled his hips. He pressed against me, our mouths melding into one. “I love you too,” he moaned again into my mouth. “So fucking much. I never thought...” He trailed off as I sucked on his tongue, and his groan turned into a helpless whimper.

After we kissed for so long, our lips were swollen and our skin was damp with sweat, we pulled apart, our foreheads touching. “Are you sure about this?” he asked.

“Stop it,” I said. “I’ve been miserable without you these past weeks. I knew it the moment I turned around, and you were gone.”

He closed his eyes. “After all these years. After the loneliness and the disappointment and the loss, leaving you there was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

I smiled at him, tracing his bottom lip with my thumb. “When did you know you loved me?” I asked.

He smirked. “When you shoved me inside that cage.”

I barked out a laugh and smacked his shoulder. “Stop it. That’s not true.”

He smiled, letting out a low chuckle. “It’s true. You were so feral and brave. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to tear your clothes off and fuck you senseless or hang on to you and protect you forever.”

I took in a deep breath, my heart squeezing, and flashed him a coy smile. “How about both?”

He grinned. “Both sounds good, Princess.”

“I’m just Rowan now,” I said, feeling the last piece of my old life fall away.

“Won’t they try to stop you?” He gestured to the forest and my home beyond, where I was sure someone must have noted my absence by now.

“By the laws of Aetherus, technically, I still belong to you.”

“You don’t belong to me, Rowan. I want you to be mine, but I’m yours too.”

I touched his face, loving the feel of his rough stubble against my fingers. “Thank you, but it might be the only way they let me go, so for now, let’s pretend.” I winked, and he gave me that crooked smile I’d grown to love in this dusty, forlorn castle.

“I can’t help but think you’re making a terrible mistake.” There was such anguish in his expression, it broke my heart.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I said, and the tentative smile that crossed his face seemed to loosen whatever rein he’d been keeping on himself. He pulled me closer, grinding his hips into mine.

“In that case, Princess, I can’t spend another minute without my cock buried inside you.” He began pawing at my nightgown, his mouth crashing into mine as he lifted me up and stood me on the floor. A moment later, his tunic and my nightgown joined the rest of our clothing in a pile.

He backed me against the table, his hands skating over my thighs and my ass before he turned me around and circled the nape of my neck with his hand.

“I missed you so much,” he said, kissing the shell of my ear, his other hand cupping my breast and then rolling my nipple with his fingers. “I missed this soft skin, and this perfect mouth and this beautiful hair.” He wrapped the length of it around his hand and then bent me against the table, his fingers sliding through my wetness.

He moved behind me, tugging open his breeches, and then I felt the press of his cock against my entrance. I moaned as he thrust inside me without warning, dragging his length out and then back in until he was fully seated. I felt his shudder ripple right through me as he pulled out and thrust back in hard enough to make me gasp. Warmth spread through my limbs, my stomach tightening already.

I clung to the table, my fingers digging into the wood as my back arched. As he moved faster, I cried out. His hand gripped in my hair, he pounded in and out of me, his other hand sliding between my thighs. We moved as one, our breaths shredded and our gasps loud in the silent night. He leaned down, his mouth clamping onto the curve of my neck as he sucked my skin and then dragged his tongue up to my ear.

“Come for me, Princess,” he growled as he surged into me, and I shattered with a cry. He continued thrusting, his chest tight to my back, and his arm wrapped around my waist. His hips continued driving as I rode out my climax, and then his body tensed before he came with a prolonged groan. We moved together for another few moments as we climbed back down the peak we’d both just mounted.

Still shaking, he scooped me up and carried me to the bed and then covered me. Before joining me, he lit the fire.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said, touching my face and running his hand down my side. “I love you, Rowan.”

“I love you too, Wicked,” I said, kissing him and then pulling back. “Do I get to know your real name now?”

He shook his head, laughing. “That is my real name, Princess.”

“Oh,” I replied, biting my lip. “I’m sorry I made fun of it.”

“We’ll call it even for the whole using-you-as-bait-thing.” He winked, and I snuggled into him, warm and safe and happy.

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Chapter Twenty

It was the morning of my wedding when we returned to the castle. My nightgown ruined from the ogre’s blood, I wore one of Wicked’s tunics that hung to my knees, my bare feet stuffed into my boots. We made quite a sight as we traipsed into view, my hair a mess and our hands clasped.

“I’ll stay out here,” he said, tugging on my hand as he tried to let go. I held fast and pulled him forward.

“No, I want them to meet you. Properly.”

The welcome we received was lukewarm as we arrived at the gates, my mother so pale she resembled the fresh layer of snow on the ground.

“Where have you been?” she asked, keeping her distance as she eyed Wicked warily.

“In the forest with him,” I said, taking her hands in mine as we both looked at the rogue Fae who now held my heart. “And that’s where I’m staying.”

“What are you talking about?” my mother asked, and I explained everything that had happened as best I could. No one was happy about my confession, but thanks to the decree, they had little choice in the matter. Technically, he had still won.

I convinced them to call off the wedding and to hold the Hunt again and this time make my sister the prize. It was a role that suited her better, and I’d always suspected she’d make a better match with Ellis.

I promised my mother I was still her daughter, but that my place in this life was over. I could tell she didn’t understand as she continually eyed Wicked, who waited for me to gather my things. Maybe in time, they would come to see what I did.

As he stood in the corner, a dark smear of black in the luxury of the palace, I smiled. It only made him look more regal. A hint of the prince he’d once been, forged by the wildness of the forest like an untamed spirit who’d finally broken free of its chains.

We hadn’t talked about what came next, but I would go with him anywhere he needed.

When I’d packed everything, Wicked picked up the overstuffed bag and slung it over his shoulder.