“And so is love.” His eyes burned.
A tremor moved through me.
“I feel like I’m being rewritten.”
“That’s the bond. It doesn’t overwrite who you are, Beloved. Italignsyou. Strips away the noise. The lies you learned in order to survive without me.”
I shouldn’t believe his words. I shouldn’t even be listening.
And yet. . .
My heart screamed that it was all true.
I closed my eyes and, in the darkness, I sought comfort and clarity.
His thumb brushed beneath my eye. Then, he leaned in and rested his forehead against mine. “You’re finally surrendering to the truth.”
I hated howtruehis words were.
Still, I kept my eyes closed. "You drugged me with that kiss. There was poison on your tongue or. . .you injected me with something else before I woke up.”
He inhaled me. "There were no drugs. Just our bond. When we reunite, the bond rewires you, Beloved. Cell by cell. Synapse by synapse. Every part of you that was built to survive alone is being rebuilt to need me, and the same happens to me too."
God help me, I feel it. . .
My pulse had changed. It wasn't just racing anymore—it wassyncing. Falling into a pattern that matched the rise and fall of his breathing.
His voice deepened. "You're becoming mine, and I'm becoming yours.”
I opened my eyes, and tears spilled down my cheeks. "How long does this last?"
"Forever. There is no cure to this love, and even if there was. . .I would destroy the medicine and kill the doctor."
He smiled, and it was the most terrifying, beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Then his gaze dropped to my cheeks. "You're crying for us?"
Before I could respond, he leaned down and pressed his tongue to my cheek.
I widened my eyes.
There, he licked a slow, heated path up my skin, collecting the tears. The sensation was so obscene and intimate all at once.
"Salt." He licked another tear. "The oldest offering. The body's way of surrendering what it cannot hold."
I shuddered beneath him, fresh tears spilling free as if summoned by his words.
He caught those too.
His tongue traced the curve of my cheekbone, dipped into the hollow beneath my eye, followed the path of each tear back to its source. Every lick sent sparks skittering down my spine. "You taste like grief and relief. Delicious."
He moved to my other cheek, and I turned my face toward him without thinking—offering my tears to him.
What am I doing? What am I—
"There she is." His voice was thick with satisfaction. "There's my Beloved."
He kissed me again.
And this time, I kissed him back.
