"You can lie to everyone else if you need to," I continued, my thumbs brushing away tears she probably didn't even realize were rolling down her cheeks. "But you don't need to lie to me. Especially since we're engaged to be married."
The last part was meant as a gentle tease, an attempt to coax a smile from her, but something shifted in her expression. Instead of the withdrawal I expected, she looked at me with an intensity that made my breath catch.
Then she was kissing me, her mouth hungry and desperate against mine. This wasn’t the calculated kiss she'd used to prove a point in our suite, but something raw and needy.
The sudden shift startled me, but it didn't take long for me to surrender to the heat of her mouth and the way her hands pushed the covers aside and ran down my bare chest with trembling fingers.
When she deepened the kiss, when I felt her arch against me with unmistakable intent, I forced myself to pull back despite every instinct screaming at me to lose myself in her touch.
"Are you sure?" I asked breathlessly, searching her face for any sign of hesitation or regret.
She silenced me with another kiss, brief but sure, before pulling back to meet my gaze with eyes that held no doubt.
"I've never been so sure about anything," she said, her voice husky.
And despite knowing that this would complicate everything, that it would blur the lines between fake and real beyond any hope of recovery, I believed her.
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Sasha
Deklyn's eyes searched mine, looking for any sign of hesitation or doubt, and I realized that this was the first time in a long time that I felt completely certain about anything.
"I trust you," I whispered, hoping he knew how much those words meant. Trust was harder than love, more precious, especially for someone who'd been betrayed by the very people sworn to protect her.
His hands cupped my face gently, thumbs tracing the line of my cheekbones as if he was memorizing every detail. The touch was reverent, and it made something deep in my chest rip open in a way that should have terrified me.
"Sasha," he breathed, my name a prayer on his lips.
When he kissed me this time, it was different from every kiss we'd shared before. Not the fierceness of proving a point, not a performance, but something slow and deep and achingly real.His mouth moved against mine with a tenderness that made my eyes burn with unshed tears.
I breathed in the clean scent of soap and warm skin, and my head spun. The towel around his waist was the only barrier between us, and when my fingers traced the ink that marked his chest, I felt his sharp intake of breath against my mouth.
"Are you absolutely certain?" he asked again, pulling back just enough to meet my gaze. The words held no doubt about what he wanted. I could see the desire burning in his eyes, could feel the tension in every line of his body, but he needed to know that I was choosing this, choosing him.
"I've never been more certain of anything. You're the only one who understands what it was like in that place. You understand me.”
His expression softened. "You gave me something to fight for in that prison.” His laugh was a low rumble. “You gave me someone to fight with.”
The admission made my throat tight with emotion even as I grinned. All this time, I'd thought I was the one who needed saving. But maybe we'd saved each other.
"You're so cocky," I whispered against his ear, my lips brushing the sensitive skin, and I felt him shiver in response.
"Only because I know what I want," he murmured back, his voice rough with desire. "And what I want is you. All of you. Not the show we put on for everyone else, not the roles we're playing. The real you."
The honesty of his words undid me. For so long, I'd been wearing masks to survive. But with Deklyn, I didn't need to pretend to be anyone other than exactly who I was.
When he kissed me again, deeper this time, his hands tangling in my hair, I felt the last of my walls crumble. The fear that had lodged in my chest since my rescue and the rage that had driven me fell away, replaced by something warm and pure.
His touch was reverent as he mapped the lines of my body, each caress a question answered by the arch of my spine, the soft sounds that escaped my throat. He made me feel desired and cherished in ways I'd never experienced before.
"You're incredible," he whispered against my skin as he kissed his way down my throat. "Strong and tough and sogrekkingbeautiful it makes it hard to breathe.”
I let my head fall back and my hands slip beneath his towel as he nipped the hollow of my throat. When my fingers brushed the velvety smooth crown of his cock, I sucked in a breath. “Mmmmm, yes. Very hard.”
A hiss escaped his throat as I curled my fingers around his rigid length and savored the feel of his cock jerk when I squeezed it gently.
