It was a fantasy; I knew that.But if I was to be death bound soon, perhaps a little fantasy role-playing was long overdue.
Valory did not argue with me as I registered us for a room.She did not say a word when I paid with cash.Only when we sat down at the bar, did she speak.
“How long have you held that poison?”she asked.
It was an odd question, but I figured there was no point in hiding anything anymore.Not with what was ahead.
“Since the thrift shop.”
She nodded as the bartender brought us our drinks.She looked at me, grasping hers in her hand.
“Matthew gave me the same thing,” she said.“At the thrift shop.”
My breath stilled.
All this time she’d had the poison, too.
“But I lost it,” she said.“But I never intended on using it.I?—”
“Couldn’t,” I finished her sentence for her.
Valory relaxed.“No.I couldn’t do that to you.”
The bartender served us our tacos, and we ate in silence.Something was missing.No, not something.
Someone.
But in the absence of the emptiness felt, we had each other.
We hadeach other.We were not alone.
Music carried over the room, soft and slow, the singer crooning on about finding a flightless bird, and I leaned into her space.
“Do you want to dance?”I asked, the words strange on my tongue.Dancing wasn’t something I did, and honestly, I didn’t care for it.
But underneath the lights, with Valory in her sinful get up, those bright eyes and plump lips, all I could think about was dancing with her.
Holding her.
Living in that one, perfect moment because it would disappear too soon.
“Now?Here?”she asked, biting that bottom lip in a way that made my damn cock twitch.I nodded, extending my hand out to her.
“Yes.”
She took it, her palm warm against mine.“Sure.”
I pulled her to the dance floor, even though there was no one else there.Slipping my arms around her waist, I pulled her close.
She rested her arms around my neck, and I couldn’t help but smirk as I swayed us back and forth.
“Don’t steal my wallet,” I teased her.
She laughed, the sight lighting up her eyes.They were red from crying, but they still sparkled.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she teased me back, but her tone shifted as she gazed up at me.“I’d rather steal your heart.”
It was my turn to smile as I moved one hand to grasp her throat.I used my thumb to tilt her head up, forcing her to meet my gaze.
