Page 10 of Dark Awakening: New World

"But you don't feel it. I don't want you to fake it."

He kept massaging her neck even though it was becoming difficult for him to keep his arm up. "I would not be happy if you showed affection toward another male now, but what was in the past has no bearing on the present or the future." He finally let his arm drop away.

She pouted. "What if I was a terrible person in my past? Would you forgive all of my past transgressions?"

"Yes. But I'm sure there is nothing to forgive. You are pure of heart and strong of spirit, my lovely Jasmine."

6

JASMINE

Jasmine wasn't sure that she deserved such unconditional acceptance, especially given how little Ell-rom truly knew about her. Not only that, she was the only person he knew other than the doctors and the nurse.

When he got exposed to more people, he might not like her, especially after he got to know her better. Not that there was anything inherently wrong with her, but she was a nobody with average intelligence, better-than-average looks, a better-than-average voice, and a mediocre acting talent. She also had a witchy ability that she was still exploring.

Not bad for a random human, but Ell-rom was a prince, and once he remembered what that entailed, he might realize that he needed a female of a higher caliber than her.

"You think too highly of me." Jasmine averted her gaze. "I'm not as pure of heart or as strong of spirit as you believe. You don't know anything about me."

"I know that you are a wonderful singer and storyteller, and I know that you went searching for me and my sister despite the journey not being easy. You saved both our lives. Then you sat by my side day and night. That makes you pure of heart and strong of spirit in my eyes."

She leaned over to the bedside table and picked up her latte to buy herself a moment to think.

Honesty was important in a relationship, but they didn't really have one yet. They were in the courtship stage, and during such a vulnerable and impressionable time, it was better to throttle the insecurities and doubts while inflating all her positive attributes. It was the selling stage, not the settling stage, and being an actress, Jasmine was an expert at selling herself.

Still, a little self-deprecation was always a good strategy as long as she didn't overdo it.

"What you feel is gratitude." She took another sip. "But you forget that I wasn't the only one there. The three gods, Julian, Edgar, and their mates, were there too."

He arched a brow. "Did all of them go trekking through the dangerous mountains to look for our pod?"

"Only the gods and I went trekking, but the mountains weren't all that dangerous. I twisted my ankle because I'm a clumsy city girl who is not used to hiking, trekking, or any of those outdoorsy activities. If it were Jade instead of me, I'm sure nothing would have happened to her."

He chuckled. "I'm sure of that as well, but that makes your sacrifice even greater. You volunteered to do something that you were not good at, something you did not like and that was potentially dangerous to you, and you did that because you wanted to save lives. That's admirable."

"I was searching for my prince," she reminded him. "The prince that the cards promised me."

"Oh, yes. The foretelling cards. I am still waiting for you to show them to me." The smile died on his lips. "Perhaps you can do a reading for Morelle."

Her eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that sooner? I should go get them."

He put a hand on her thigh. "Not yet. I'm so tired that once you leave, I'm going to fall asleep, and I'm not ready to part with you yet."

Goddess above, that was so sweet.

Out of all the nice things he had said to her so far, that was the sweetest.

Putting her latte back on the side table, she kicked off her flip-flops and lifted her legs onto the bed. "Bridget will probably have my ass for this, but it's worth it." She stretched out next to him on her side and leaned to brush her lips over his. "This is probably the first time you've had a woman in your bed. Do you want me to take a picture?"

Without waiting for his answer, she pulled out the phone from her jeans pocket, activated the forward-facing camera, and lifted it over the two of them. "Smile!" she commanded while beaming at the screen.

Ell-rom did as she asked, but his smile looked more like a grimace. Nevertheless, she snapped several pictures before putting the phone on the side table. "Why did you make a face at the camera?"

"I saw my reflection on your device, and it looked terrible. I have no hair on my head, but I think that I'm starting to grow hair on my face. My jaw looked dirty in the reflection."

Frowning, Jasmine leaned closer, cupped his cheek, and rubbed her thumb over his skin. "You are right. It's still just hair follicles, so I can't feel the stubble, but you are starting to grow facial hair. I thought that you didn't have any."

"Why? Kian has facial hair, and so does Julian. What about the gods? I don't remember if Aru had hair on his face. And what about the Kra-ell?"