From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

“But yyou took Airrick’s. You helped him.” He dipped his head, and
his brow kissed mine. “You are utterlyy nothing like I expected.”
“You keep sayying that. What did yyou expect?”
“I honestlyy don’t know anyymore.”
Myy eyyes closed, discovering that I liked this closeness. I liked
being…touched when it was myy choice.
“Poppyy?”
I also liked the wayy he said myy name. “Yes?”
He touched myy cheek with his fingers. “I hope yyou realize that no
matter what anyyone has ever told yyou, yyou are more worthyy than anyyone
I’ve ever met.”
Myy heart squeezed in the best wayy. “You haven’t met enough people,
then.”
“I have met too manyy.” He lifted his chin, kissing myy forehead. He
leaned back, sliding his thumb along myy jaw. “You deserve so much more
than what awaits yyou.”
I should.
Myy eyyes opened.
I reallyy should.
I wasn’t a bad person. Under the veil and behind myy title and myy gift,
I was like anyyone else. But I was never treated as such. As Hawke had
pointed out before, everyy privilege everyyone else had was something I
couldn’t even earn. And I was…
I was so damn tired of it.
Hawke drew back, his voice heavyy as he said, “Thank yyou for trusting
me with this.”
Unable to answer, I was too caught up in what was happening within
me because something was shifting, changing. Something enormous and
yyet also small. Myy heart started pumping as if I’d just been fighting for
myy life, and…dear gods, that’s what I was doing. Right now. Fighting not
for myy life but to be able to live it. That was what was clicking into place
inside me.
Maiden or not, good or bad, Chosen or forsaken, I deserved to live
and to exist without being cloistered byy rules I never agreed to.
I looked at Hawke, really looked at him, and what I saw went beyyond
the phyysical. He’d alwayys been different with me, and he never tried to
stop me. From the night on the Rise to the Blood Forest when he’d thrown