His best friend’s fiancée. His only damn friend, really. Guy thought he’d finally lost his mind when it all happened, too fast, too much, but God, it felt so right. You felt so right for the first time in his arms.
The first stolen kisses in the castle hallways, hidden away in corners no one would think to look, quiet confessions, slipping away together into the maze, letters filled with beautiful words neither of you could bring yourselves to say aloud, because Guy knew, if he ever said them to your face, he wouldn’t be able to stop. He was completely lost in you, and yet it felt too good to be real.
Of course, you were going to marry Theo, the duke, his best friend, but he loved you, he wanted you with a kind of aching force he knew couldn’t possibly be normal.
At first, he’d told himself it was nothing. A glance that lingered, a soft laugh only he caught—but then it kept happening, again and again. He began to feel it: that pull. That quiet, inescapable gravity. It was terrifying and tender, being seen so clearly by someone who expected nothing in return.
And still, it had to end, all of it, for your sake, for both your sakes. If Theo ever found out, he’d never forgive you, either of you.
“Listen,” Guy whispered, placing a hand gently against your cheek. He pulled back slightly, then kissed you one last time, breathless. Your lips were already swollen, cheeks flushed from everything he'd just given you. “I need to... we need to stop,” he murmured, eyes shutting as if it physically hurt to say the words. Because it did, leaving you hurt.
“If Theo—”
You silenced him, pressing a finger to his lips. The two of you stared at one another for a brief, burning moment. And in that silence, everything was said. You loved each other. You craved each other.
“Not now,” you whispered, breath shaking, hair a mess of desire. “Don’t ruin it.”
When your fingertip brushed his lower lip, Guy knew he was done for. Just one touch from you, and he was already intoxicated, helplessly, utterly addicted to this dangerous drug called love.