Page 184 of Unravel Me

He chuckles bitterly. "Funny. It was me who was convinced I was going nuts."

"You’re not. But you need to know that my original took the wrong path in life, a dark one, and I am the part the darkness failed to consume. Because I have the blood of magical ABOs in me, I was successfully separated from him and given redemption… or a chance at it. But only if I meet you."

Roberto listens closely, his eyes wide open, his breathing quickened.

"I know something about taking the wrong path, because I was on it myself for many years. I know what it means to long for a second chance, even if it is only that tiny part of you that still knows things could have gone differently in an alternate reality, on a different course," Roberto whispers pensively, his fingers moving over my face, as if he still couldn’t quite believe that I was actually here, physically present beside him, not only a figure from his dreams.

Closing my eyes, I tremble beneath his touch, then lift my hands and take his other hand where it rests on his lap. I respectfully press a kiss to that hand.

"My original did something terrible today, and he will pay the highest price for it. His fate will be sealed in a moment, and along with his fate, so will mine… Give me a chance, Roberto. Please, give us a chance."

Understanding appears in Roberto’s eyes. He knows what I am asking for. I can see it in him, the realization slowly sinking in that a pivotal moment is approaching, that everything may depend on what happens now. And I feel a bittersweet joy seeing that he believes me, probably because he can sense me, just as I can feel every one of his emotions.

The next moment, a shudder runs through my body.

"Oh, damn!" My breath hitches. I bend forward a little, fighting to take it.

"It’s coming, Roberto… I have only minutes left to live. In a moment, a man with white hair and violet eyes… that man will kill Rocco, he will shatter him into a million pieces…"

Roberto quickly moves closer, and wraps his arms around me, resting his head against my shoulder. I breathe in his soothing scent, bring my lips to his temple, and brush my mouth against his smooth black hair.

"What do I have to do?" he whispers, "What can save you? Joining?"

"I think so… It may be the last chance. Joining can save dying True Mates. It closes the channel of energy between our souls, binding me to you. It may keep me here, bound in this world."

Roberto blinks, his tanned cheeks turning slightly red. "I… I haven’t been with anyone in years. I gave up on that part of my life," he blurts out, exhaling the air from his lungs, his hot breath brushing against my lips.

"And I’ve never been with anyone, not once, ever since I was created from him, three months ago. All I could think about was finding you… that was my only purpose."

Those chocolate-brown eyes remain fixed on my face, and the sadness and certain severity in his expression slowly give way to a shy smile.

"So… you’re real? You came to me, all the way to the edge of the world?"

I smile sadly in response. "I can become real. A real person. But that decision is yours, only yours."

Roberto nods, and suddenly he pulls off the warm fleece he’s wearing. Then his sweater, and the warm undershirt beneath it, revealing naked skin.

His body is covered in numerous tattoos, some of which he may have gotten in prison, perhaps tied to his past in the gang. He has a lean, sinewy body with light olive-toned skin, strong but lithe at the same time, and my eyes travel over him hungrily. I want to take him into my arms, kiss him, hold him close… but that choice belongs to him.

Rocco would never ask, never beg. He would simply take. But Rocco was created by Tito, who brought that little boy to them, and they showed him how to take without asking, to ignore pleas, cries, and begging. But I am who Rocco would have been if he hadn’t been broken, shattered into pieces by the cruelty of those men.

For me, Roberto’s consent means everything. It is his invitation for me to enter this world, to create me anew, to accept me… through an act of his kindness rather than violence.

This gesture belongs to him, and he makes it.

A moment later, his bare arms are wrapped around me, and I sink into them.

Our lips find each other, my hands sliding over his smooth skin, tracing the lines of his tattoos. Soon I’m shedding my clothes too, and the magic that draws True Mates together heats our blood as we kiss and touch.

"Do it. I know your time is running out…" Roberto whispers, a little breathlessly, but I just can’t hurry, I can’t just push inside, so I do everything I can to make sure he’s ready, but the pressure of time is like Fate’s breathing on my back. I sense the stretching of the seconds that separate me from annihilation…

I glance down at my hand, intertwined with Roberto’s, and see it… I’m becoming transparent!

My veins, my bones, showing through my skin. I’m turning into a true shadow, fading away…

"Take me, do it!" he urges me, seeing a flash of panic in my eyes, and I settle between his willingly spread thighs, pressing into his opening.

With the next thrust, I enter his yielding body, and…