Page 143 of Monsters Carve Thrones

Mine, too.

“You’re my weakness, but you’re also my strength,” I said, pressing deeper into her. “If I’ve become any better than the demon I was, it’s because you loved me.”

Thrust.

“You gave me everything,” I panted. “God, baby… you’re the best thing to ever have fallen into my miserable life.” I cupped her face and kissed her deeply. And when I pulled back just a little, I saw her face was wet.

Tears.

Something inside me broke open.

Emotion and passion crashed together like a fucking tidal wave. I moved faster, driven by everything she meant to me–everything we’d survived. My eyes rolled back at how incredible she felt, how perfect, how warm, howmine.

“You’re my life, Rafe,” she whispered into my shoulder, her voice wrecked. “Thank you for coming for me. And never giving up on me. On the days when I wanted to give up, I thought of you. Of your smile. That dimple on your cheek.”

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t fuckingbreathe.

So I kissed her instead. Hard. Tongue against tongue, her body rising to meet every thrust like she was trying to crawl inside me. Then she clenched around me, her breath breaking into tiny sobs into my mouth. Her nails clawed down my back, scratching fire into my skin.

I groaned, my whole body flexing. She was soaked, her hips rocking up to take everything I had.

I couldn’t hold back.

I pressed my forehead to hers while I came inside her, filling her with my cum and my goddamn soul. Thoughts shattered entirely, and all I felt was her. All I smelled was her. I stayed buried as I finished, her little moans spurring me deeper, her arms locked around my shoulders. She always loved feeling me fill her.

After a few minutes of catching our breath, I finally pulled away to look at her flushed face. “I should probably say something else romantic now,” I muttered, half-dazed, brushing her hair back from her damp forehead. “I feel like I just recited a sonnet.”

She laughed, eyes still wet. “Thatwasromantic. In a completely Rafe sort of way. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I kissed her again, gently now. Like I had all the time in the world.

Because with her, I did.

***

ADELA

The morning light poured in through the tall windows, soft and golden, spilling across the stone floors and warming the mess we’d left behind. My body still ached in the best way. Every inch of me hummed with the memory of his hands, his mouth, the way he looked at me while he made love to me.

I was tucked against Rafe’s chest on the thick rug, one of his arms draped around me lazily, his hand splayed over my stomach like he didn’t plan to move for hours. Maybe days.

God, he was warm.

I turned my head slightly to look at him. His face was peaceful, but his eyes were open, already on me. “You watching me sleep again, stalker?” I whispered, a crooked smile pulling at my lips.

He smirked. “I’ll always watch you sleep, Dela.”

I rolled onto my back, eyes tracing the beamed ceiling above us. Silence settled between us, but it wasn’t empty. It was full. Full of everything we’d survived. Everything we’d taken back. Everything we’d ripped apart to get here.

“Do you remember,” I murmured, “the first night you broke into my apartment wearing that mask?”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah. You and that little knife. You thought you had a chance.”

“You caught that blade in your hand like a psycho,” I said, grinning.

He snorted. “You loved it. You loved being beneath my blade.”

“Yes, I did.” I rolled my eyes, really thinking of how far we’d come. “But I think I knew back then, somehow… that you’d ruin my life. And make it better at the same time.”