And it takes everything inside me not to go to her and wrap her up in my arms. But I know she needs a moment. She needs space. And I refuse to bulldoze over that necessity.
Eventually, as the rain picks up, she takes one slow step toward me. “W-why?” she asks, but her voice is softer now. “Why do you feel like you need to protect me?”
Because you’re mine. Because I am yours.
“You know why,” I say quietly.
Her brows pull together. “No, I don’t.”
“You can feel it.”
She just stands there, looking up at me while the rain runs down her temples and over her lashes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.”
Her pulse jumps, and I move closer until there’s barely any space between us.
“When I’m near you,” I say, “your breathing changes.”
She swallows.
“When I touch you, your body relaxes. When you’re sleeping, your body seeks out mine.”
Her fingers curl at her sides.
“When I pull away, your body tries to close the distance. Blair, you don’t belong to anyone,” I say quietly. “But you belongwith me.”
Her eyes flash. “You don’t get to decide who I belong with.”
“I would never decide for you.”
She steps into me then, but it’s not in anger. It’s in frustration and confusion.
And then she kisses me.
There’s no strategy in it. This isn’t a test or manipulation. This is the bond. This is her trying to understand why she’s so drawn to me. This is her not fighting against herself.
The kiss is slow and deep and not at all frantic like I’d expect. I can taste the salt of the rain on her lips, and when our tongues dance against each other, a small moan escapes her throat.
She slides her hands into my hair like she’s trying to hold on to something solid, and I wrap my arms around her waist without thought.
The world narrows. The rain fades. And an arc of electricity flows from her chest and into mine.
I feel the exact second she stops resisting altogether. Her body softens, and her mouth doesn’t hold back as she kisses me hard and deep and with every ounce of need and want and desire that flows inside her veins.
And I kiss her back. Because I can’t not kiss her back. I can’t not hold her body tight against mine. My cock grows hard as moansstart to spill from her lips, and she presses her breasts against my chest.
When I finally pull back, she chases my mouth before she realizes I’ve stopped.
Her eyes open slowly.
“Why does it feel like this?” she whispers.
Because we’re fated.
Because I would burn down the world to keep you safe.
Because I belong to you just as much as you belong to me.
