Page 329 of Once Upon a Fable

Who...who—

I frowned, trying to work out who—

Gemma!

Ah, fuck, Gem.

I scooted backward, breaking her hold on me and shoving my broken arm up. “Don’t...don’t touch me. I might hurt you.”

“You won’t,” she snapped, full of conviction and power. “It wasn’t a nightmare. It was a blackout. You had them yesterday. You said they were nothing, but this one...” She sniffed, and her voice cracked. “You weren’t there.” She rubbed her nose, sitting back against the mansion’s wall. “You were gone. Your body was inside me, Kas, yet your mind...I couldn’t reach you.”

I scrambled farther away, glancing at her body. Her peach-tone dress covered her legs, her hair held ivy leaves, but there was no evidence I’d been inside—

She held up her hand, pointing at my crotch. “Before you argue that sex didn’t happen, look at yourself.”

I followed her finger, and my teeth snapped together. My shorts bit into my thighs, and wetness covered my very erect cock. Wetness fromher. Wetness that said she’d wanted me as much as I’d wanted her.

Instantly, desire shot through me. The hiss in my balls for a release. The tingle down my spine to finish.

I shifted to touch her. To fill her again.

But I shied back.

No.

No way could I finish.

What if I blacked out again? What if I hurt her and didn’t even know?

Christ, what ishappeningto me?

Shaking my head, I forced myself to go back a few minutes, trying to learn what triggered me. Slowly, pieces returned. Pieces of promises, thrusts, and souvenirs of rough sex against an ivy-vined wall.

And I froze.

Because the obviousness of it was too big to ignore.

My walls had fallen the moment I’d sunk inside her. The trip wires and safety measures I’d installed after my memories came back after five years of nothing were decimated.

She’ddone that.

She was so good, so perfect, that every part of me relaxed in her company. Even my mind relaxed, giving her everything.

Never.

I couldneverafford to do that.

Those walls were there for a reason.

“I...I have to go.” I staggered to my feet. My fingers fumbled with my zipper as I pulled up my shorts, wincing as my cock argued about being confined and denied.

Lust still hummed in my blood. I wanted her with every fiber of my being. But I wanted to keep her safe more.

Gemma stood too, watching me carefully. “You said that last night, and I let you go. I’ve regretted it ever since.” Stepping toward me, she whispered, “Wherever you go, I go. I’m not letting you out of my sight today.”

“That’s not a good idea.” I swallowed hard. “I...I need some time to—”

“Firewood!” she blurted. “Let’s go collect firewood.” Giving me a wobbly smile, she added, “Let’s stick to the original plan, okay? No thinking. No worrying. Whatever just happened, let’s forget it. Let’s just stay busy...together.”