"You're so much more than that." I brush away her tears with my thumbs. "You're brave and strong and good. Everything he isn't. Don't let his evil poison who you are."
She stares at me, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Then she does something that stops my heart.
She kisses me.
It's different from before. Not claiming or possessive. Just soft. Seeking. Like she's trying to find something in me that makes sense of all this chaos.
I kiss her back.
And I'm lost.
Ava
I kiss him like he’s the only thing that can save me. Even though I don’t believe he can.
It's not rational. It's not smart. But I'm choosing this.
Choosing him.
Even if it's wrong. Even if it makes me broken or twisted or crazy. In this moment, I need to feel something other than fear and guilt.
Renat goes still against me, and for a heartbeat I think he's going to push me away. Tell me I'm confused, that I don't know what I'm doing.
But then he groans this low, desperate sound that vibrates through his chest, and his hands tighten on my waist. The kiss deepens, and suddenly I'm not leading anymore. He is.
His tongue slides against mine, hot and demanding, and heat floods my body. His hands move from my waist to my hips, then up my back, pulling me closer until I'm practically in his lap.
I don’t think about what this means, about consequences or complications. Instead, I think about how good he feels. How solid. How alive.
I break the kiss, breathing hard. "I want—" The words stick in my throat.
"What, Ava?" His voice is rough, strained. "Tell me."
"I want to feel something other than afraid." I meet his eyes in the darkness. "I want to choose something for myself, even if it's stupid. Even if I regret it tomorrow."
His jaw clenches. "You'll regret this."
"Probably." I reach up and trace his lips with my finger. "But right now, it's my choice. Not my father's. Not the Fed’s. Not even yours. Mine."
A darkness flickers in his eyes.
"If we do this," he says carefully, "there's no going back. You understand that?"
"Nothing about tonight can be taken back. You already took me. Already claimed me." I slide my hands up his chest, feeling his heart hammering beneath my palms. "This is the only thing I get to control. Let me have it."
He's silent for a long moment, studying my face like he's searching for doubt. For hesitation. He won't find it. Not about this.
"Once," he finally says. "We do this once, and you're mine completely. No more questions. No more doubts. You'll belong to me in every way."
"I already belong to you." The words surprise me, but they feel like truth. "You decided that the moment you walked into my apartment. This just makes it my decision too."
His control snaps.
He kisses me again, harder this time, his hands fisting in my hair as he angles my head exactly where he wants it. I make a sound somewhere between a gasp and a moan, and he swallows it, his tongue claiming my mouth the way his words claimed my future.
"Say it," he demands against my lips. "Say you're mine."
"I'm yours."
