The Darkest Temptation ✔️

TWENTY SEVEN

Word Count: 1749

~Tove

This is probably a big mistake.

Raising my fist, I knock quickly on the door before I can decide against it. My courage is waning, even if I am excited to see my mate tonight.

He answers after at least a minute, rubbing a hand down his face tiredly until he see's it's me standing at his doorway.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, looking over me and past me, as if harm may have suddenly befallen me.

It is the middle of the night. Mary and I go carried away talking, and now, I'm standing at Keo's door at a time that can hardly be excused as innocent.

"Yes...everything is fine," I force out uncomfortably. The reality of my decision has settled on my shoulders.

Keo relaxes, leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh. Good."

He looks beyond tired. His dark hair is all mussed, messily draped down over his forehead and ears. His eyes are shadowed by a lack of sleep, and considering all the stress he's under, I'm not surprised.

"I wanted to talk to you," I tell him softly, as someone may overhear.

Other than Mary in the wing on the other side of the house, we are entirely alone.

He steps back, motioning into the room. "Of course. Come in."

I wander in, flinching a little at the click of the door closing. I like Keo's room here, I decide. It has large glass doors - which are a useless addition considering the weather- that showcase the blizzard gathering outside.

My eyes can't help but drift toward the bed, which looks both wonderfully comfortable and terrible sinful at the same time.

Keo doesn't say a word, watching me cautiously.

"Look...I want to thank you for bringing Mary to me. I feel a lot better," I tell him in one breath.

I'm hyper aware of how awkward this moment is. Keo stares at me with passionate intensity, knowing that I haven't just come to his room in the middle of the night to thank him.

"You have a lot of potential, Tove. You just need to get out of your head," he affirms.

I rub the back of my neck. "Yeah. You're probably right."

If he wasn't looking at me, I would be physically wincing. I'm aware that I'm the one that should be coming clean with my intentions for being here, but it's more difficult than I anticipated.

"Is something else going on?" He prompts softly, sensing I'm holding back.

I look up at him, at those earnest eyes. Keo rarely brings his guard down, even around me, and right now, in his tired state, his vulnerable emotions are laid out before me.

"Are you not attracted to me?" I whisper, almost hopeful he doesn't catch it.

He frowns. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. You flirted with me so much when I first came here. Now that you know I'm your mate, it's like you don't want me," I admit sheepishly, shrugging my shoulders.

Heat is blooming in my cheeks as I face my own insecurities. I don't want to be special to Keo, not when it means my entire life will shift off it's course and into an unknown future...

And yet, I don't want this space between us. I don't want to be strangers.

"I'm respecting your boundaries," he tells me slowly, picking his words with care.