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“I know. It was a thank-you, not only for saving me but also for being there for both me and Gwen. Thank you, King.”
He grunts as the tension he carried on his shoulders as a badge slowly withers away and he sits on the bed, unapologetically pulling me onto his lap.
I sit, facing him as he wraps both arms around my waist with a tightness that suggests he’ll never let go.
“You’ll have to do a lot more than kissing me in thanks, sweetheart.”
“Like what?”
“Lifting the illegal ban, for one. As soon as you’re healthy, I’m going to sink my teeth into your neck while I fuck your pussy, then your ass.”
I hesitate, directing my gaze sideways.
He uses two of his fingers to grab my chin and bring my attention back to him. “What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“Fuck that, Aspen. You started that ban for a reason, and if you don’t tell me about it, I won’t be able to figure it out. I’m smart, but I’m not a mind reader.”
“I just…don’t want sex to be our only connection. If that’s why you want me, one day you’ll get me out of your system or maybe you’ll get bored of my fight and find someone who kneels to your will, and it’ll be all over.”
“Are you fucking serious?” He plasters me to his chest, his fingers digging into my nape, and speaks so close to my mouth, I feel every word instead of hearing it. “I had a connection with you before sex was even involved. Yes, I love your submission to my dominance and how you secretly enjoy the way I mark your skin, and sex plays a role in what we have, but it’s not all we are. You chase away my darkness and understand me on a level no one else does. You never shied away from my callous side. If anything, you stood right in the path of its destruction, challenging me for more. Not only are you my match and the woman who gave me Gwen, but you also make me a better man, sweetheart.”
“You make me a better woman, too, King,” I whisper in an emotional voice I usually wouldn’t allow myself to speak in. “I’ve wanted you since I was fourteen and I think I never stopped wanting you since. You’re the one man who sees inside both the old and new Aspen. You make me want to embrace my weaknesses and my scars because they’re a form of strength, too.”
“As you should. They’re as beautiful as you.”
“So you don’t hate me anymore?” I ask with pathetic hopefulness.
“I don’t think I ever did.”
“Then why were you a jerk all that time? Especially after you found out I was Gwen’s mother?”
“Truth is, I searched for you more than you searched for me. In the beginning, I thought it was to teach you a lesson for abandoning Gwen, but in reality, I wanted you all for myself. You were the only woman who made me feel at a time I thought I was incapable of it. You looked at me as if I were the only person in the world.”
“And you looked at me as if I were important. I never felt important until that moment.” I reach a hand out and stroke his cheek. “I love you, King. I think I’ve loved you since that first time.”
He briefly closes his eyes, nostrils flaring with each harsh intake of air. When he opens them again, they look like my custom-made storm that will drag me into its depths and never allow me to surface.
And the worst part? I don’t want to surface. If he’s dark, then I’m willing to embrace that darkness.
His pulse thumps loud against my chest as if his heart wants to fuse with mine. “What I felt for you was obsession at its finest, but over time, I realized, this type of obsession ran deeper and wilder than I ever anticipated. This type of obsession is a twisted translation of love. You had me long before either of us knew, but now you own my heart, body, and soul, sweetheart. Just like I plan to own yours.”
I smile, murmuring. “You already have them.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. You’re my king and I want to be your queen.”
“You already are.”
He kills the small distance between us, devouring my lips in a kiss that I’ll remember for the rest of our lives.
I’m his.
He’s mine.
This time, permanently.
