Page 65 of Serpent & Saviors

You’ve cut the ties,

and opened the door.

With outstretched wings,

I’ll once again soar.

Say you’ll come with me,

and stick by my side.

I need your strength,

for this journey—this ride.

So rip me open, straight to the bone.

For a love like yours I’ve never known.

As the last of the heartfelt verses left her lips, her words circled around us, binding us in some small way. My heart swelled with every syllable. Her voice trembled with sincerity, and I was in awe of her spirit. She opened a window into her heart, allowing me in.

The haunting vulnerability shining in her eyes struck me. I was moved, not just by the beauty of her words, but the courage it took for her to share them with me. I hooked my finger and called her over. She set the book and pen down and crawled over until she was close enough for me to grab.

“Do you have any idea of the magnitude of what you make me feel?”

“No, Sir,” she whispered. “If it’s anything like what I feel though…” Her voice trailed off.

I cupped her face and rubbed her bottom lip with my thumb. “You are an incredible woman. I’d be honored to be your strength and a part of the next chapter of your life.”

Her eyes met mine, and tears filled them. “Really?”

My lips fell to hers, and I placed a small kiss on them. “Really.” Devouring her once more.

The night blurred into something deeper than desire, and the hours slipped past unnoticed. We reached for each other again and again. Less out of urgency or need, more out of the quiet relief of being seen, of not having to explain ourselves to anyone else.

By morning, the world had slowed. She slept curled against me, her breath soft and even against my chest. I traced slow circles along her back, memorizing the weight of her, the quiet strength she didn’t even realize she carried.

For the first time in years, something settled inside me. A peace I hadn’t thought I was allowed to feel. Because in a few hours she’d finally be free of him. Cameron would no longer have a claim to her. And God help me, I was already beginning to imagine what my life might look like with her in it.

I took a deep breath, trying to get control of my racing emotions, and buried my face in her neck. I’d picked out a new scent for her, and now, breathing it in, a calmness settled over me.

When I first picked it up, it tickled my memory bank, and I wondered if part of finding your soulmate had to do with scent because I knew it was her before she even wore it. Alek was forever going on about Kinsley’s: and this woman’s scent captivated me like no other.

There was a sweetness of sparkling berries that reminded me of her demeanor, soft and delicate, and once you nestled in, you were hit with an underlying scent of tangerines. It was like a burst of sunlight reminiscent of her playful nature. Together with the last notes of bubbly champagne, it teased me mercilessly.

I was so drunk on her I didn’t want to ever let her go, not even for one second. I let her sleep as late as I could and then kissed her awake. I needed to check in with Pasha and make a few phone calls before we left, so I excused myself and left her with instructions to order breakfast.

My eyes were drawn to the poetry journal we’d purchased. A teal flair pen rested on top of it. She’d read me the poem last night, but I wanted to read it for myself once more before I left. Her words gave me hope and filled me with wonder once more. I put it back exactly how I’d found it and left the suite.

Forty minutes later, I closed the door to Pasha’s suite and walked the short distance to mine. The breakfast cart was placed outside the door. I paused and lifted the dome off one of the plates. The fruit was mostly gone; the rest picked at.

She’d eaten at least a little. That minor detail settled something in my chest. I opened the door quietly and stepped inside.

Victoria stood near the sitting area, her bag at her feet, fingers knotted in the hem of her shirt. Her eyes flicked up at the sound, and for a second, I saw the storm behind them—fear, determination, all tangled together.

She was ready. Or at least trying to be.

In an effort to make this look real, like she was going back to him, she only had the bag she had brought from home. The plan was to leave it with the asshole. She wouldn’t need anything in it anymore, anyway.