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Every time he drives himself home, a rocket fires off in my head, tingling, surging through me like electricity.

My body is giving out.

My muscles exhausted. My ass vibrates with exertion.

This is it.

“Yes…Yes,” I bear down, bracing myself as I feel him begin to pulsate.

“Vanya!” He calls for me, warning me, singing to me.

And I am there with him, unleashing the last of my love, shattering. I explode into a million pieces, every nerve of my body glowing in the glory of my release.

To say that he filled me before was nothing compared to the searing magma that flows from him, spilling out around his final plunge, soaking us in our heavenly eruption. Deep inside, I feel myself flex, squeezing every drop from him.

We stay there like that for minutes, an hour.

I lose track of time.

Our bodies are slack, clinging to one another. All the while he remains within me, still rigid.

I savor it even as I doze, not wanting to miss that sensation of him for a second. To make it last as long as possible.

Unless he tries to start again…

I might die.

But my lover is breathing deeply, completely at peace and holding me close to his chest as it rises and falls. I watch him, tracing my finger down his face, and he smiles. Not the usual, wide grin. Just a gentle, warm smile as he rests.

And I am no more. I am only his.

Ciro Diamante. Shakal.

Mine.

There is no one like him. Together, we will burn this entire palace to the ground. We will escape. Make it home. Start a life together.

For the first time in my life, I do not have hope for a future. Not just aspirations. Ambitions.

I make a resolution. And I’ll be damned if we do not make it home. Together.

We have both been broken down, torn apart.

And he has put me back together, piece by piece. Healed my wounds. Patched the cracks in my soul. Now I will do the same for him.

I am home in his arms. In his heart.

And no one can stand against us.

21

CIRO

After a night of unrivaled pleasure in a situation that freed us from basically any and all inhibition, I could sleep for a fucking week. I feel like one of those floppy inflatable tube guys when the motor gets turned off.

Stretching, I luxuriate in the cool, endless sheets around us.

The bed is bigger than most of the rooms I had growing up.