Page 26 of The Beast's Hidden Rose

She props herself up on one elbow, studying my face with a tenderness that still surprises me. "And now that the impossible has happened?"

I touch her cheek, tracing the flush that still stains her skin. "Now I'm terrified of losing it. Of losing you."

"You won't lose me." She kisses my palm. "I chose this, Guy. Chose you, with open eyes and full knowledge of exactly who and what you are."

"And who am I?" I ask, genuinely curious about how she sees me now, after everything.

Her smile is soft, knowing. "You're the Beast who sees me more clearly than anyone ever has. The man who loved me from afar for years." She leans down, pressing her lips to mine in a kiss that feels like a seal, a promise. "You're mine. And I'm yours."

"Forever," I murmur against her lips.

"Forever," she agrees.

As moonlight replaces the candles' glow, casting silver light across our entwined bodies, I hold my wife—my muse, my obsession, my salvation—and know with absolute certainty that I've found my place in the world. Not in isolation, not in observation from a distance, but here, with her, creating something neither of us could have imagined alone.

"You're mine now," I whisper as she drifts toward sleep in my arms. "Forever."

Her lips curve in a smile, eyes still closed. "And you’re mine, Beast."