It was fast then. He took me with speed, only stopping in the middle to flip me on my stomach and take me from behind, one hand in my hair and the other over my mouth because I couldnotstay even slightly quiet.
He made me come twice, my body pliant and open for his use, before he came hard, his chest sticking to mine with sweat and the heat pouring off my skin.
Then he bit playfully at my shoulder, making me squeal before he turned me in his arms, caring for me slowly and gently, wiping my skin with his shirt when he realized we had no towel. Every movement was gentle and reverent, like I was something precious.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I couldn’t stand being away from you that long.”
“You weren’t.” I laughed, pressing a hand to the center of my naked chest. “I could feel you, here.”
His brow furrowed then. “I wish you took up every corner of my mind and body so I could feel you constantly.”
That made me pause. My hand stayed against my heart. I watched him, the way the lines of worry stayed carved into his face even when he was holding me like this. Even when I was warm in his arms. He felt like…something I’d been missing. Not just passion, not just heat—but safety. Steadiness. Like my home with Edith, but stronger.Mine.
I didn’t know where I came from. Not really. I didn’t know who I had been, or what the Annihilation had taken from me. But in this moment, none of that felt as heavy. I wasn’t lost. I was here. With him. And maybe I didn’t remember everything, but I could make new memories. I already was.
I leaned into him, humming under my breath with a soft smile. “I love you.”
He pulled back, his eyes searching mine, stunned. “What did you say?”
The words had slipped out, almost unbidden, but they were true.
“I love you, Blake.”
Blake shook his head. Disbelief was written across his face. I considered for a moment what this might mean to him.
Edith and I saidI love youall the time, even if I was just stepping outside of the hut for a moment. We touched and hugged and comforted one another.
Besides Yvonne and Poppy, had I ever seen anyone be affectionate to Blake Axefire? I imagined his parents, members of the rigid Octagon, were staunchly against such displays of emotion and vulnerability. And even with his sister and niece, how often could he manage to see them and bask in the warmth of their affection?
I sat up higher on his chest, grasping his jaw with my hands and pressing my forehead to his.
“I love you, Blake,” I said again. “Your gentleness. Your strength. I love you as the duty-bound Ambush Master and the ruthless Twin Blade just as much as I love you as the grieving brother, the messy soldier, the stripped-down warrior. I love you as myfriend, above all else. My heart.”
“Rubi,” he said, his voice thick. “I…Gods, you were made for me.”
He laughed, boyish and smiling, his eyes roaming over me again as if he couldn’t believe I was here, in his arms. “Rubi, I love the way you are selfless and brave. I love your kindness. I love your laugh.I love you, too.”
I felt lighter, too, carefree and young. For a moment, it wasn’t about demons or saving the world. It was only him and me, in love.
“You have made me a better man, and I am forever grateful forit. I don’t know if I—” He cut himself off and shook his head, ducking his chin.
I took it in my grip and pulled his eyes back to meet mine. “What?”
“Being the Ravager, organizing the Ironstorm and betraying the crown.” He swallowed. “I’d made peace with my death, what would inevitably come for me. But now—now, for the first time in a long time, I want tolive. Desperately, with you by my side.”
My eyes filled then, overcome with relief that my love was returned, but with fear too, knowing the dangers and demons still ahead. I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my forehead against his. We were here now. We were alivenow.
He gripped me just as tightly, arms around my waist, pulling me to straddle him.
“We should Soul Pair,” I said, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “I want to be tied to you, permanently.”
“Rubi—you…you don’t mean that.”
“I do,” I said, pressing my hands to his bare chest. “I’ve never…I’ve never felt like I belonged. I was always out of step. My memories gone. Rejected by Silvers, and by so many Azures, too. It wasn’t until Flame chose me that I found my place. It wasn’t until…”
My chin dipped down, the vulnerability of this moment pulling my throat tight so it was hard to speak. I looked directly at him. “Until you.”
I took a deep breath, then pressed my forehead to his again, closing my eyes. “So, yes. I want to Soul Pair with you. I want to be at your side. As your tygress queen’s Bonded rider. As your lover. As your Pair. As your mate.”
