I pull him down to me. "So are you."
When he finally enters me, it's achingly slow.
He watches my face with every inch, reading every flicker of sensation, making sure I'm with him.
I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him deeper.
"I'm not going to break," I tell him.
"I know." But his hands are still gentle as they grip my hips. "But you came back from the edge of death today. I'm allowed to be careful."
"You're allowed tomove."
A huff of breath that might be a laugh.
Then he does.
Deep, steady thrusts that make me see stars. Not frantic. Not desperate. Justpresent—here with me, feeling this, feelingus.
I meet him stroke for stroke, rising to take him deeper, and somewhere in the rhythm we find something that feels like peace.
His forehead drops to mine. His breath mingles with mine.
"Safe," he whispers, and I don't know if he's reassuring me or himself. "You're safe. I've got you."
"I've got you too," I whisper back.
And I do.
I hold him as the pleasure builds, as his rhythm starts to falter, as his control begins to fray.
When he comes, it's quiet—a shudder and a broken exhale against my neck. His whole body goes rigid, then melts into me.
I hold him through it.
Hold him as he buries his face in my shoulder, breathing hard, trembling with the effort not to bite, not to mark, not to let the curse slip even a fraction.
"It's okay," I murmur, stroking his hair. "You're okay. I'm here."
He makes a sound that might be a sob.
We stay like that for a long moment—tangled together, hearts racing, the aftershocks of pleasure slowly fading.
When he finally pulls back, his eyes are wet.
"I choose you too," he says roughly. "Whatever that means. Whatever it costs."
I pull him down for a kiss that tastes like salt and promises.
After, he cleans me gently with a warm cloth, then wraps me in furs and pulls me against his chest.
I rest my head over his heart, listening to the steady thrum of it beneath my ear.
"They'll come back," he says quietly. "The Crown won't stop. Not now that they know what you can do."
"I know."
"And the thirty days—" He stops. "There's only twenty-seven left. When the time comes—"
