She nods. “Yeah. I think… yeah.”
“Well, that’s good enough for now.”
We don’t say much on the walk back to our room. We don’t need to. The tension that was wound tight between us all morning has shifted into something else… something solid.
As soon as the door clicks shut, I’m reaching for her again, needing to finish what we started before Turbo interrupted us.
I step into her space, slowly lifting my shirt over her head. Every inch of skin I uncover feels like I’m taking back something fate tried to steal.
Lifting her into my arms, her legs wrap around my waist on instinct. She laughs softly against my mouth as we sway back a step, bodies already locked together.
Carrying her over to the bed, I sit on the edge, resting my forehead against hers.
“You need a road name,” I say between kisses.
Her mouth curves. “I already have one.”
That gets my attention.
“Let’s hear it, then.”
She studies me for a second, that familiar mix of strength and steel in her eyes.
“Mystique,” she finally says. “Because Herrera thought I was weak. Thought he had me figured out.”
“And he didn’t,” I finish.
“No,” she says softly. “He really didn’t.”
My chest tightens with pride.
“That name really does fit you,” I tell her.
She doesn’t answer, just kisses me again. Soft at first. Then deeper. Claiming.
The world outside the room disappears, and it’s just… us.
Londyn crashed back into my life like a storm and stayed like a sanctuary, quieting the worst parts of me, standing unbroken in the wreckage, riding straight into fire instead of running from it.
The nightmares aren’t gone. But now when they drag me under, she’s there pulling me back.
“I love you, Lolo.”
The words come out before I can stop them. They hang between us, heavy and real.
Her eyes shine as she looks at me.
“I love you too, Nightmare.”
Something inside my chest finally locks into place.
She’s mine.
She’s a Royal Bastard.
And she’ll ride by my side.
Londyn…an hour later.
