Page 479 of Once Upon a Fable

It felt like we came for days.

Like we died and were reborn as one.

Our eyes met as we jerked with aftershocks.

Tension throbbed between us.

His hair was a mess.

His lips swollen.

His face as wild as the day I met him.

But then as our bodies slowly calmed and our hearts stopped jackhammering, he smiled.

A rare, stunning smile that held no ghosts, no shadows, or the many, many horrors of his past.

It was a smile full of belonging, of healing, of love.

And I saw our future.

A future that would be hard-won but full of triumph.

A future where he was more than just happy.

He was free.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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“YOU SURE?” Gemma asked softly, her hand poised by my cheek, the pink feminine razor in her fingers.

I nodded, glancing at myself sideways in the mirror.

She’d tidied up the hack job of my hair after we’d had sex, taken a shower, and wrapped ourselves up with towels.

Dusk was falling outside, groceries were waiting to be put away, and Gemma had planned a live video chat this afternoon for her legions of online fans.

But none of that mattered.

She didn’t make me feel like I was an inconvenience or taking precious time from other activities. She was one hundred percent with me, her attention locked on me, her heart forever joined to mine.

Fuck, I’m lucky.

Running a hand over my shorter locks, it felt so odd. Gem might not be a professional hairdresser, but she did a great job. She’d trimmed every strand but not excessively short. It still curled around my ears and flopped over my forehead if I tilted my head.

It wasn’t the preppy style of some of the guys on the TV, but...it kind of suited me.

It was unruly but not wild.

Messy like my mind but tamer than my previous existence.

“Honestly, Kas, I don’t think I’m going to allow you out in public. You’re content living in my house, right? You don’t have to go outside and mingle. No one else has to see you but me.”

I looked away from my reflection and caught her stare. Mirth dancedover her face, but something sharp glowed in her hazel gaze.

“Am I that ugly?” I still had my beard—that was the next thing to go—but I thought my haircut was an improvement.