Dean leans back, his hands squeezing my breasts, running over every inch of my skin as his expression shifts into something deeply satisfied. Like he understands what’s happening before I do.
“Look at that,” he rasps. “You’re mine now, hellfire. Bonded to me.” His voice drops as he pulls me closer, slamming into me hard enough to steal my breath.
“Mine. My hellfire.”
The word echoes through me… settling somewhere deep and permanent.
Something in me snaps at his words, and I fall apart, the intensity stealing my breath. Dean follows right after, his warmrelease fills me. Both of us unraveling together, but he doesn’t stop thrusting, stretching our orgasm until neither of us can hold on anymore.
Dean blinks, and his eyes flash an unnatural blue, rippling like the ocean. He stares in shock as his essence shifts, streaked with shades of blue and purple, looking like a powerful storm taking shape as our Divine merge.
Something inside me unlocks… something I’ve been missing for years.
It feels like finding a piece of myself I thought was gone forever.
My back arches as a hum builds inside me, magic through my veins like something new awakened.
Before I can hold onto it, the power fades, leaving me drained, exhausted, and sore in places I’ve never been before.
Dean collapses beside me, immediately pulling me into his arms, holding me close.
“Did we just…?”
“Bonded for eternity?” Dean grins down at me. “Yeah, we did.”
“Good.” My cheeks hurt from the wide smile stretching on my face.
I never realized how rarely I smiled before Dean came into my life.
There’s no denying how fast and how deeply I’ve fallen for him.
I don’t know how I missed it before, but now I can’t imagine a world without him.
He told me he loves me, and all I did was stare like a fool because he was saying something out loud that could crumble the delicate bond between us.
Or maybe I can’t say it back because of the secrets I still haven’t told him. Every time I share anything about my past, Ikeep a lot of the details to myself, and I’m starting to hate how that makes me feel.
Like I’m building something real on half-truths.
I know Dean wouldn’t force me to share… but this one secret could ruin everything. And I’m running out of ways to pretend it won’t.
I can’t keep living like I’m about to drown. Sooner or later, I have to face this.
“Dean, do you… Do you want kids?”
He props himself up on his elbow, his brows knitting together at the sudden shift.
“Doyouwant kids?”
I blink, not expecting him to turn the question on me.
“Dean…” I press my face into his chest, gathering the courage to say it out loud. “I can’t have kids. I’m infertile.” The word catches in my throat, even after all these years.
I found out the night I escaped, and it became a big reason I stopped thinking and did whatever it took to get out of there.
The women who gave Tiberius sons were treated better than the rest, and I knew if he found out, instead of killing me, he would’ve kept me as his personal toy.
Dean cups the back of my head, gently pulling me away so I have to look at him. “I hate that you didn’t get to choose the life you wanted.” A tear rolls down my cheek, and he presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “Hazel, it’s okay to mourn something you never had. There’s no shame in admitting you wanted the choice.”
