Home > Work > Destined (Wings, #4)
1 " I've loved you for a long time, ' she said. 'But there was always something holding me back. Maybe it was that I was afraid of an emotion that was so consuming. It still frightens me,' she admitted in a whisper. Tamani chuckled. 'If it makes you feel any better, it scares the daylights out of me on a regular basis. "
― , Destined (Wings, #4)
2 " Tamani looked at her gravely, and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.He hesitated for an instant, then his hands found the sides of her face, pulling her to him. He didn't kiss her, just held her face close to his, their foreheads resting together, their noses almost touching.She hated how much it felt like good-bye. "
3 " You still haven't told me what you're up to,’ she said at last. ‘One more minute,’ Tamani said, smiling against her lips. ‘We don't need minutes,’ Laurel said. ‘We have forever.’ Tamani pulled back to look at her, his eyes shining with wonder. ‘Forever,’ he whispered before pulling her into another kiss. ‘So does this make us entwined?’ Laurel asked, a sharp twinge of grief piercing her happiness as she repeated the word Katya had used, so long ago, to describe committed faerie couples. ‘I believe it does,’ Tamani said, beaming. He leaned closer, his nose touching hers. ‘A sentry and a mixer? We shall be quite the scandal.’Laurel smiled. ‘I love a good scandal.’‘I love you,’ Tamani whispered. ‘I love you, too,’ Laurel replied, relishing the words as she said them. And with them, the world was new and bright-- there was hope. There were dreams. But most of all, there was Tamani.’ “Aprilynne PikeDestined pgs. 284-292. "
4 " Laurel lifted his chin until their faces were even. Tamani closed his eyes and she could feel his jaw trembling under her hands. She brushed her lips over his, reveling in the velvety softness of his mouth against hers. When he didn’t pull away, she pressed more firmly, knowing, somehow, that she had to move slowly, convince his tattered soul so carefully that she meant every word. ‘I love you. And I’m asking you...’ She opened her mouth slightly and gently scraped her teeth along his bottom lip, feeling his whole body shudder. ‘No,’ she amended, ‘I’m begging you, to come be with me.’ And she pressed her mouth against his and murmured, ‘Forever.’ For a few seconds he didn’t respond. Then a groan escaped his throat and he thrust his fingers into her hair, pulling her mouth to his with a fierce hunger. ‘Kiss me,’ she whispered. ’And don’t stop.’ His mouth enveloped hers again and their shared sweetness tasted like ambrosia as he caressed her eyelids, her ears her neck, and Laurel marveled at the strangeness of the world. She had loved him, had always loved him. She had even known it, somehow. ‘Are you sure?’ Tamani murmured, his lips softly grazing her ears. ‘I am so sure,’ Laurel said, her hands clutching the front of his shirt. ‘What changed?’ He pushed her hair away from her face, his fingers lingering on her temples, just brushing her eyelashes. Laurel sobered. ‘When I brought you the potion, I thought I was too late. And I had just taken it myself. And all I wanted right at that moment was to take my own cure away. To die with you.’ Tamani pressed his forehead gainst hers and lifted one hand to stroke her chhek. ‘I’ve loved you a long time,’ she said. ‘But there was always something holding me back. Maybe it was that I was afraid of an emotion that was so consuming. It still frightens me,’ she admitted in a whisper. "
5 " Tamani checkled. ‘If it makes you feel any better, it scares the daylights our of me on a regular basis.’ He rained kisses on her again, his fingers pressed against her back and her waist, and Laurel realized that his chest was shaking convulsivly. ‘What?’ She asked pulling away. ‘What’s wrong?’ But he wasn’t sobbing-- he was laughing! ‘The World Tree,’ he said. ‘It was right all along.’‘When you got your answer?’He nodded. ‘You said you would tell me someday what it said. Will you now?’‘Commit.’‘What?’‘The tree just said, commit.’ He ran his fingers through his hair, smiling a little. ‘I don’t understand,’ Laurel said. ‘Neither did I. I was already your fear-gleidhidh; I’d committed my life to protecting you. When the tree told me that, I figured you were as good as mine. Easy.’‘And then I told you to leave,’ Laurel said, sorrow at the memory settling deep within her. ‘I understand why you did,’ Tamani said, threading his fingers through hers. ‘And it probably was better for us in the long run. But it hurt.’‘I'm sorry.’‘Don't be. I was listening to the tree, and to my own selfish desires, when I should have been listening to you. I think I know what the tree really meant now,’ he said, his voice rumbling against her ear. ‘I needed to commit my life to you-- not to guiding you or protecting you, completely, in my core. I needed to stop worrying about whether you would ever do the same for me. In a way, I think that's what coming to the human world did, and why I wasn't sure I could bare to go back.’ He traced his finger down her face. ‘I was committed to the idea before-- to the love I felt for you. But not to you. And I think you sensed that change or you’d have rejected me.’‘Maybe,’ Laurel said, although at this moment she couldn't fathom rejecting him for any reason. His fingers found her chin, lifting it so he could look her in the eyes. ‘Thank you,’ he said softly. ‘No,’ she said, running one finger across his bottom lip, ‘Thank you.’ Then she pulled his face down, their lips meeting, melting together again. She wished she could stay there all day, all year, all eternity, but reality came creeping slowly back in. "
6 " It's only by becoming familiar with poisons that you can make the best antidotes. "
7 " I'm begging you, to come be with me." And she pressed her mouth against his and murmured against his lips. "Forever."For a few seconds he didn't respond.Then a groan escaped his throat and he thrust his fingers in her hair, pulling her mouth back to his with a fierce hunger."Kiss me," she whispered. "And don't stop. "
8 " Anyone can pluck a flower...true strength is knowing how to give it life. "
9 " Tamani pulled out his cell."He has an IPhone?" her mom whispered as the second ring sounded in Laurel's ear.Laurel nodded. "I was saving that little tidbit of ammunition the next time we discussed me getting a cell. "
10 " That you don't believe does not change the truth. "
11 " Still, there are many things we can toss at them that don't require magic at all. Acid. Hot oil. Bookshelves. "
12 " I think I could have won state today. Apparently, you put a troll on my heels and I turn into a superstar. "
13 " sometimes we're so busy looking at one thing, one... person... that we can't see anything else. Maybe - maybe it's time for you to open your eyes and look around. "
