Page 90

“Four,” she corrected. But she was laughing, cheeks flushed, eyes alive.

I was already reaching for her. I pulled her in, caught that laugh between us and kissed her, slow but hungry.

“Is that a yes?” I murmured against her lips.

She kissed me back, slow and firm. “Yes.”

And right then, under the stars, with her warmth pressed against me and the future open at our feet, I realized something:

She was the one thing I’d never conquered—the only thing I never wanted to. Because she didn’t need to be claimed. She needed to be chosen.

And gods help me,I would choose her. Again. And again. And again. In this life time and the next.

The End