Fallen Ashes |✔️

Release

I watched a fire in his eyes ignite as I explored his mouth, suddenly pushing away at the shock of what I'd just done.

"Run." Was all he managed to say as we stormed down the halls past the knocked out guards Ash had left outside.

To get to me. To save me.

Burning with rage at Vero and the thrill of escaping with Ash sent waves of anticipation making my body tingle.

The only sound in the world was our steps against the marble floor as he reached for my hand, bursting out of an unguarded exit into his waiting vehicle.

"I didn't need you to save me." I offered somewhat uselessly as he grinned at me from the wheel of his sports car.

"Looks like you were doing just fine on your own- in your cell sat on your ass." He teased mockingly as I felt my cheeks turn red from heat.

My mind was clouded by the blur of events that had unfolded. I knew there would be no stopping the wedding this weekend- and feared what other cage he or father had planned for me if it went against their wishes.

"Why did you save me?" I whispered as he sped out of the mansion grounds as my conversation with him last night flooded back to me.

Did you think I could fall for you?

I wondered if the words had stung him as much as they did to me as I frowned at the distant look on his face.

"Your eyes weren't looking at me."

"What?" I snorted.

"You were lying to me. You couldn't look me in the eye when you said it. How many times will I have to save you until you kiss me like that again?" his voice turned menacing- as if vowing to unleash himself upon me without mercy.

"'I could have sworn I saw tears in those eyes, Italian princess." I playfully hissed at him as he growled with a mixture of delight and surprise at the name as his mouth twitched upwards.

"You'll see a lot more than tears now you're here." I almost stopped breathing at the sight of his wicked grin as he killed the engine, stopping by a quiet-looking meadow I'd never noticed before.

"Get out of the car then. Unless you would prefer going back to that cell."

I threatened to slit his throat in mock offense as he slid off his jacket, looking out towards the varying hues of the sunset reflecting in his eyes.

"It's beautiful." I sighed, wondering when I'd began to take notice of the beauty that surrounded me.

"I know I am." He purred back without missing a beat.

I rolled my eyes, unsure of what I truly found most beautiful in the picturesque scene before me- the sunset, the meadow or...

I clenched my hands in denial, desperate to explore what lay beneath his close fitting t-shirt under the jacket he had thrown off, displaying the built muscles of the chest beneath.

"What's the tattoo that creeps up your neck?" My voice was almost a whisper as his damning stare made my legs turn to jelly.

My fingers itched to clasp him around the neck, to let him die for some reason I couldn't pinpoint. Perhaps I still held a grudge from his appearance at the ball. God, it felt wrong to want  him at the same time.

I watched with no small amount of awe as he peeled off his t-shirt, revealing the slightly tanned, muscled body that lay beneath.

His chest was a release and a prison to look at- captivated by his bare chest and transfixed by the many tattoos that had no beginning or end.

I felt myself move towards him, laying a hand on the outline of his dove tattoo, seeming to fly towards his right shoulder as I became lost in another tattoo.

I almost asked why the dove tattoo as his breathing became faster, our breaths intertwining as the air between us suddenly became more intimate.

The dreaded thought invaded my mind once again- I was getting married this weekend.
To a man who tried to cage me.

I wanted to fight against it- and I would when the time came.

But for now, I wanted this moment to mean everything and nothing. To just be two people admiring eachother bathed in the last rays of light. Two killers or saviours or dancers or lovers- whatever we meant to eachother I didn't care as this time his lips found mine, my name a near silent groan on his lips.

"Venus." His whispered my name as if he'd heard it for the first time, his sapphire eyes taking me in with anticipatory pleasure. 

I traced my fingers against the tattoos on his back, the cuts and ridges that ran deep. Until I noticed all the lines weren't tattoos- as if they existed alongside another permanent marker on his body, leaving a labyrinth of scars.

I paled in realisation as my hand instinctively moved away from his back, leaving me cold in the absence of his touch.

"Holy shit." I whispered, feeling as if my heart had just plummeted to the ground.

"What?" He groaned at me, his body tensing despite his fingers remaining desperate to explore. 

"You're the Prince of Scars."

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