She's My Queen

Chapter 11: Can I Love You

"Sit," Edward pats his bed. "You said you wanted to know everything, right?"

I nod and sit down next to him. "Yes, but shouldn't you get changed out of that first?" I point at his bloody clothes.

He starts to unbutton his shirt. Blushing hard, I glance away. "You don't have to turn away," he laughs. "You'll have to look at this soon enough."

I peer back at him and gulp. He is ripped. I grit my teeth and try hard to resist the urge to run my hands over his gleaming abs. I clear my throat and say, "um, what were we going to talk about?"

"Let's start with last night," Edward says, "I'm sure you know that my brothers were murdered?" I nod. "Alexander was only a year older than me. We were very close. He screamed for my help before the assassin slit his throat. But I couldn't respond. Couldn't move. I was frozen in fear."

"You were just a kid. It's normal to feel scared."

"I dream about his death every night. I'm always paralyzed. Forced to watch him slaughtered again and again."

I rub his shoulder reassuringly, "Edward, I'm so sorry."

"When I was little, I would cry when I woke up. But over the years I've stopped feeling anything. I'm become completely numb," he takes a shaky breath and shows me his arm, which is covered in tiny silver scars. "I cut myself hoping that the physical pain will trigger something within me. But I can't feel. It's like my heart doesn't work anymore."

"Oh, Edward," I whisper, "I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, he reaches out and takes my hand, turning it over to reveal the thin cut his sword had made last night. "But when I cut you last night," he whispers, keeping his gaze fixed on my palm, "for a moment, I felt...I felt pain."

"Hey," I lean down and caress his cheek, the way my mother always did to me when I was sad. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault. I cut myself by accident."

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispers.

Assuming he meant my hand, I try to remove it from his face, but he grabs it and keeps it tight against his cheek. "I felt pain," he says, "It pained me to watch you get hurt." He closes his eyes for a moment, as if recalling something. His lips quirk into a smile and he continues, "and the day I met you, all crazy yet so so beautiful. I felt something. Something..."

"Edward...I-" I start to say, but suddenly his face is inches from mine, and my words are frozen in midair. He's coming closer, I note, feeling my heart speed up like crazy. I cannot stop staring at his lips, which seem to be coming straight for mine. "Why?" he whispers, "Why do I feel this way when I look at you?" He pauses before me for a second, his eyes searching mine, as if asking for permission. I start to close my eyes, and almost immediately, his lips are on mine.

Our kiss is hot, passionate and all tongue. Like nothing I've ever felt before. As an actress, I've kissed my fair share of hot guys, and there were some pretty good kissers, but this is different. This is unreal. This is one of those kisses that you read about in unrealistic romance novels. I gasp as he yanks me into his bare arms and presses his lips against mine, harder and more urgent.

I press myself into him, shocked by the pleasure rushing through me. "Don't stop," I whisper, feeling his fingers pause on the corset of my dress. But he does.

"Catherine," he murmurs against my lips, his voice strained. "Maybe you should go."

"What?" I pull back and stare at him. "Why?"