Page 70 of Sacrifice

“I know, and I absolutely love you for that,” I said before popping the entire pastry in my mouth. It was just as delicious as he told me it would be.

As I blissfully chewed, staring up at the stars in the sky, Sebastian unpacked the rest of the bag, narrating the process as he went. “This is the best sushi, the best mushroom arancini, the best pumpkin and feta tartlet, and this right here… this is the very best ring from the best jeweler in town.”

“Hm?” I gave him another quizzical look. Then my eyes widened as I realized he was on one knee, holding out an open ring box with a delicate, sparkling ring inside.

“There’s one more thing I was hoping you’d like to try,” he said, voice thick with emotion.

I stared at the ring, its brilliance reflecting the starlight. My heart raced, and tears sprang to my eyes as I looked back at Sebastian, who was gazing at me with a mixture of hope and adoration.

“Rose,” he began, his voice steady despite the vulnerability in his gaze. “Will you marry me?”

I nodded as a joyful sob escaped my lips. “Yes!” I choked out through the emotion that had instantly clogged my throat.

Sebastian’s face broke into an overjoyed smile as he slid the ring onto my finger. Then he stood up, pulling me into a tight embrace. “I love you so much,” he muttered against the shell of my ear.

“I love you too,” I replied, tilting my head back to look up at him.

I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed him, and he instantly opened his lips to mine, tongue pushing inside. I cradled his jaw in my hands, kissing him deeper, hungrily sucking on his tongue. When I finally broke away, my panting breaths and the hot flush of my skin wordlessly conveyed four words to him.I want you. Now.

I could tell he felt the same. Could feel his hard cock pressing against my lower belly as he leaned down to nip at my earlobe. One big hand moved down to the front of my pants, unclasping the top button before slowly pulling down the zip. I gasped as his thumb rubbed slow circles on my clit, taunting me, making me beg.

“Please,” I whimpered. I wanted him so badly it hurt.

He let out a low groan and dragged me down to the blanket, sending cups and containers flying across the sand. My clothes flew to meet them seconds later, along with his shirt. I bit my lip, clenching with need as he unbuckled his belt and pulled his cock out of his pants, rubbing the head over my clit in the same slow, expert circles his thumb had traced over me moments ago.

Part of me knew I should feel dirty or ashamed, because this wasn’t Alderwood. People in the real world didn’t have sex outside on the ground. At least not from what I’d seen. Ididn’t care, though. I liked things rough and dirty, and so did Sebastian.

He pulled his cock away and shoved two fingers in my already-dripping pussy, curling them against the spot that made me cry out with bliss.

“Please, Sebastian,” I panted. “More.”

His cock replaced his fingers, and my own fingers curled on the blanket beside me as I gasped and moaned my pleasure. Sebastian fucked me like a madman, pulling me higher and higher until I was swept over the edge of a leg-shaking orgasm, screaming and gasping for air.

“Fuck, I love you so much,” he ground out, finding his own release inside me. Before I could reply, his lips crushed mine in another searing kiss, and then he collapsed beside me, chest heaving as he caught his breath.

As we lay there, tangled together on the blanket beneath the night sky, I let the steady sound of his heartbeat lull me and calm my own racing heart. The ring on my finger kept catching the moonlight, glimmering in the corner of my eye. It felt like more than a symbol of love. It also felt like a symbol of everything we’d fought and overcome together. A beacon of light after so much darkness threatening to swallow us.

Here, with Sebastian, it couldn’t touch us. Not anymore.

“No more darkness,” I whispered against his chest.

“No,” he murmured back to me, briefly pressing his lips to my head. “It’s all because of you, baby.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes.” He kissed the top of my head again. “You’re the light, Rose.Mylight. And you always will be.”

Epilogue

Sebastian

One yearlater

Two years had passedsince my beautiful wife last set eyes on the track leading to Alderwood. I could tell it was affecting her to see it now, from the way her hands had tightened on the edge of her seat and the way her breathing was a little too controlled, betraying the anxiety brewing inside her.

“Are you okay?” I asked gently, reaching over to rub her arm.

She took another deep breath and nodded. “Yes. It’s time,” she said. “I’ve waited far too long.”

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