I close my eyes briefly, ignoring the flash of pain in my chest at his words.”
"I know." The words come easily. Calmly. "And I'm tellingyou right now, all bets are off. Do what you need to do. Find him. End this. I won't ask you to spare him."
Adrian stares at me. "What?"
"You heard me." I step closer. "He's not my brother anymore. He stopped being my brother the moment he tried to use me. To sell me. To put our son in danger." My hand finds my stomach. "So do what you have to do. I won't stop you. I won't ask you to show mercy." I feel tears in my eyes because even though I’m saying all of this, I can’t help the way my heart wrenches at the thought of Gabe being dead.
"Seraphina—"
"I'm yours," I say quietly. "Completely. And I'm choosing you. Choosing this family. Choosing to stand with you instead of against you."
Something shifts in his expression. The rage is still there, but underneath it is something else. Understanding. Recognition.
"Say that again."
"I'm yours." I reach up, cup his face. "And I'm done fighting you. Done fighting this. I see you now. I understand what you are. What we are." I pull him down until our foreheads touch. "You're my husband. The father of my child. And I'm choosing you."
His hands are on my waist, gripping hard. "You're in shock. You don't know what you're saying?—"
"I know exactly what I'm saying." I kiss him. Hard. Desperate. "I'm yours, Adrian. Take what's yours."
He groans into my mouth, hands moving to my hips, pulling me flush against him. I can feel how hard he is already; how much he needs this.
Needs me.
I break the kiss, breathing hard. "I want you to have all of me. Every part. No more holding back. No more walls."
"Seraphina—" His voice is wrecked but there’s anticipation in his tone.
"I want you to take me." I turn around, bending slightly, hands braced on my vanity. Looking at him over my shoulder. "Everywhere. Every way. I want you to claim every part of me until there's nothing left that isn't yours."
Understanding dawns in his eyes. Then heat. Dark, possessive heat.
"Do you understand what you're asking for?"
"Yes."
"If I do this—" His hands find my hips. He pushes up my dress, exposing me. "If I take you there—there's no going back. I'll have had you everywhere. Claimed every inch of you. There won't be anywhere I haven't been."
"Good." I hold his gaze in the mirror above the dresser. "That's what I want. To be completely yours. No more barriers. No more holding back. Take me, Adrian. All of me."
His control snaps.
He's on me in seconds, hands working my clothes off with frantic efficiency. My dress. My underwear. Everything gone until I'm naked from the waist down, bent over the vanity watching him in the mirror.
"You're sure?" He's behind me, hands stroking my ass, my thighs. "Because once I do this?—"
"I'm sure." I push back against him. "I need this. Need you to take everything."
He makes a sound that's almost a growl. Then I hear him moving, getting supplies from the nightstand.
"Spread your legs," he orders. "And don't move."
I do, bracing myself against the dresser. Watching in the mirror as he kneels behind me.
The first touch of his finger, slick with lube, makes me gasp.
"Breathe," he murmurs. "Just breathe. I've got you." He’s tasted me there before but that’s it. And despite how I presented to him, I’m nervous.
