Page 170 of The Secrets of Jane: Reborn

“Oh, yes, I do.” Those words effortlessly leave my lips.

He leans down and kisses me deeply, passionately, before parting to ensure I’m staring right into his eyes, so close our noses touch. “I love you, Jane Ritter.”

My exhale is shaky; those words the salve that my soul needed, something immeasurably profound happening in my heart. “Of course I love you,” I say through a rushed exhale, my brows upturned. He’s already on my lips, his tongue spreading me wide. His free hand dips below the water to grab my ass so hard that I’m pressed right up against him, feeling his cock that’s firmly hard between the two of us.

A new passion translates through our kissing, now that we both know how close we were to not having this. He moves us to the edge of the bath until he lifts me, gently placing me on afur rug as if he knew where he wanted me when I came to him. Soren climbs out, the beautifully carved man dripping all over as he claims my lips once more. His cock grazes against skin that hasn’t been touched by another since back in Skull’s Row, the man completely ready to penetrate to claim what’s his. I spread my legs further,needinghim.

He rubs his stubble along my face as his mouth finds my ear. “Lots of things will change. You’ll keep that piece of my mask, for starters.” I breathe heavily, and he uses a hand to help guide him as his cock gently finds where it’ll enter me, slowly stretching what’s impossibly tight. “You’re my love, Jane.” His voice is a low rumble, filled with vulnerability. “It’s all behind us, andI’llbe the only one claiming you like this until our last breath. You can breathe easy with me.”

My lungs might burn but fuck that injury. I run my hands along the backside of his arms, the two of us getting lost in each other from kissing, teeth gently scraping, or tongues roaming as he rocks his hips to deeply fill me, intertwining our bodies. I don’t know why those words help settle the dust of everything that just happened, but they do.I’m safe, now, and I trust Soren.

He’ll always find me.

“Touch yourself,” he says into my mouth.

My hand lowers, rubbing my clit with so much purpose as my eyes fully roll with how it feels to have his cock deep inside while I clench onto the sensation of an orgasm rising. Every time I glance down, I glimpse his thick cock disappearing into my body, over and over. My other hand digs its fingers into his skin as I work so eagerly to let that feeling wash over me.It’s not even really the sex I’m chasing, but rather that utter vulnerability I want him to have.

This means I’mfree, and withhim.

That pushes me over as I scream out, my body jolting. His cockburiesinside as I do, and it’s such a beautiful sensation tobe physically and emotionally infiltrated by Soren after all that mayhem, this bliss turning that nightmare into something so far away.

Soren isn’t far behind me, moaning as his body stiffens, the rocking ceasing as I can feel him pulse inside of me, the man pressing as deep as my body will allow him. He grunts and stiffens, his eyes slightly rolling as he suddenly slows down all movement, his cock twitching inside of me.

His forehead presses against mine as we both lie there, fully interlocked with the other. “Life isn’t right without you, you know,” I gently say.

Pale, beautiful eyes are so close to mine, so open and defenseless. “No, it’s not,” he gently says. “I need the vibrations of your soul, love. I couldn’t function without it.”

Well, fuck him, because now I’m almost crying again. When I press my lips firmly into his, the act is so slow and mesmerizing, my body filled to the brim with electric pins and needles.

“Thank you for fighting for me,” I say into his mouth, the threat of crying fully returning.“Thank you,” I say with a sniff, pressing harder into his forehead, those words stretching further than just rescuing me. For existing, for keeping my father alive, for taking care of Kathleen. “Thank you.”

“Everything in me chooses you, Jane. I’llalwaystake care of you.”

J A N E

The calm after such a destructive storm is one my body doesn’t know what to do with. Sometimes, I wake after a nap with a jolt and am convinced I still have to save Anya, while at other times, I stare at a brazier for far too long when passing by one in a hall.

Accepting that those memoriesdidhappen is one consideration, but fully embracing how close I was to a horrible life, or a tragic end, is not easy to manage. It’s similar to whenI first made it to Coalfell and started to realize I might actually never see my father again, and accepting how easilyIcould have been stabbed instead of my mother.

Iknowit’s probably better for me to handle these emotions on my own, but the way Soren can spread through my heart and close off the chasms that threaten me… I let him. It’s what I wanted when we first met, and I’m going to let someone have complete control over my heart if he wants.

My unique healing with him might create a dependency of sorts, but we’re all dependent onsomething.

Who cares if mysomethingis a behemoth of a killer?

I’m currently sitting in that very man’s bed chambers, the ceilings tall, the walls dark, and quite a few windows overlook a shoreline that merges into a forest, whereas the sitting room faces the rolling hills.

Nothing has felt this close to home since the Silver District.

“That’s the very shoreline I used to roam as a kid,” Soren comments, catching me staring out.

“Who lived here before you?” I ask, putting my hands on my knees.I’m sitting on the edge of his bed after having just woke up.

“No one. I had this manor built when I took over Serpent’s Crest in my twenties. It’s completely mine. I tend to like things that way.”

The corner of my mouth twitches into a roguish smile at his comment, before my imagination wanders to envisioning a Soren long before me. “Which came first, the name or you?”

“The name.” He stands next to me as I continue to look out the window, touching my hair as I lean my head against his bare stomach. “There’s a lot of snakes here,” he explains. “I watched how they attacked and used it as a tactic before I wasproperlytrained. Thought it was only fitting to make the name of this place my emblem.” His fingers lace with my hair beforesmoothing his hand over the back of my head. “What makes you sad, love?”