“I’ll share you,” he forces out. “I know Malrik is obsessed with you, but I don't care..You’re you, and if he holds a piece of your heart, fine. Just promise me one thing—don't make me wait. Wake up. Come back to me and let me have a piece of your heart, too.”
There’s a raw, desperate tenderness beneath his words.
I fight to move, every muscle quivering as if they've forgotten how to obey me. I have to show him I’m still here —that I’m not gone, that I’m waking up. Seconds stretch into what feels like hours, and every heartbeat screams at me to keep going. Another tear slides down my cheek, and I let out a broken, tired moan.
“Cherry?” His voice is low, brushing against my ear like a whisper.
I push harder, summoning every shred of strength until my lashes flutter open, slowly letting in the harsh light. And there he is—those beautiful, bright blue eyes, rimmed red with worry and something deeper.
He gasps, a shaky breath that trembles through him, and fresh tears spill down his cheeks. My fierce hunter breaks—right here before me. His hands cradle my face with such tenderness, like I’m the most fragile thing in the world.
His lips find mine, soft and careful, as if he's afraid to break the fragile thread between us. My chest tightens, heart swelling and splintering all at once, and I kiss him back.
My Ronan.
I could kiss him for eternity and never grow tired of the way he tastes—like home and heartbreak and everything I never thought I’d have. My fingers shake as they rise to touch hisarm, grounding myself in the feel of him while he holds my face carefully.
He breaks the kiss, but doesn’t move—not an inch. His forehead rests against mine, breath shaky, eyes searching.
“I love you too,” I whisper, the words barely forming past the ache in my throat. I want to tell him more—why I love him, how he’s one of the only people who’s ever made me feel truly seen, how the thought of a world without him makes my chest cave in—but before I can, he grins.
That lopsided, reckless grin makes my heart skip. He shakes his head, as if he can't believe I’m really here. And then he kisses me again, harder this time, like he's starving for it.
His tongue grazes my bottom lip, gentle but insistent, and I part my lips, letting him in because by the stars, he already lives inside every part of me.
A soft moan escapes me the moment his tongue touches mine, the kiss deepening, raw and consuming. With every breath we share, every gentle press of his lips against mine, it feels like he's pulling me back to life, stitching me together again.
And strangely—beautifully—my body starts to feel okay. The weight that pressed down on me loosened, the ache fading beneath the warmth of his hands. His fingers trace my neck, slow and reverent, memorising every inch, and it anchors me in a way no magic ever could.
My hand rises on instinct, threading in the short hairs at the back of his neck, anchoring him to me—because I need this. I need him. All of him. The realms could be burning to ash around me, and I wouldn’t spare a glance—because all I can think about is him.
My body aches for him, drawn to him like gravity, like fate. Nothing else matters. Not the possible war, not the blood, not the weight of what’s to come.
Right now, all I crave ishim.
Ronan pulls back just enough to breathe, his chest rising and falling like he’s just surfaced from deep water. His eyes are wild, burning with a need so raw it steals my breath, but beneath it… restraint.
“We shouldn’t,” he murmurs, like it hurts to say it.
I cup his face in my hands, grounding him. My magic pulses beneath my skin, alive and reaching for him, just like I am.
“I need you. Before everything burns, before whatever we have to face out there—I need to feel you. No one else. Nothing else. Just you.”
His eyes flicker, torn, but I catch the way he glances over his shoulder. The door is locked.
I don’t recognise the room, don’t know where we are, but it doesn’t matter.
Wherever he is, that’s where I want to be.
A crooked grin appears—wicked and boyish all at once. “Just making sure your other boyfriend doesn’t burst in. It’s been too long since I’ve had you like this… and I want it to be just us.” His voice drops, husky with need. “This time.”
“Understandable,” I murmur, breath catching as he grabs me in one fluid motion and pulls me up into his lap like I weigh nothing.
My fingers tighten around his shoulders, anchoring myself as he looks at me—really looks at me. Eyes dragging down my body like he’s starving, and I’m the only thing that’ll satisfy the ache.
“I need you naked,” he says, voice rough.
A laugh escapes me, and I lift my arms, slow and teasing.
