Page 83 of Theirs to Rule

“I was just thinking about how fucking special you are,” I muttered. “Cónaím thú agus gheobhainn bás chun tú a chosaint.”

“You’ve said that to me before.” She reached out to touch my cheek. “It means ‘show me what you’ve got,’ right? It might take me some time to recover, but I will.”

I smiled, pulling her close to me as my lips found hers. “I lied when I told you that’s what it meant,” I admitted.

“Really?” She frowned. “What does it mean, then?”

“First, I want you to tell me you love me,” I ordered her softly.

“You know I do,” she said.

“I want to hear you say it,” I told her.

Her eyes met mine, full of adoration, fear, and love. “I love you,” she whispered. “More than I probably should. Now tell me what it means.”

“I love you, and I’d die for you,” I murmured, staring deep into her soul. “And I meant every fucking word of it."

Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, gazing up at me. "You proved it when you took a bullet for me." She wet her lips, her gaze dropping before she met my eyes again. “I don’t think I could love you any more than I do right now,” she whispered.

"That's exactly how I feel. And I want to make sure you always get what you need, Rebel. What we just did, the spanking,that's as far as I can go with giving you pain with your pleasure. I'm not sure how much more Dante would go, but Ty..."

She frowned. "Why are we talking about him now?"

"Because you know that's where it's headed, baby. I just want you to know, after Ty threw that knife at me—there’s no way I could ever deny he’d die to protect you. It kills me to say it, but if Ty can ever get past whatever's keeping him from being with you, you'll have two men to be with you after I'm gone."

"They'll never take your place," she whispered.

"No, they'll form their own in your heart. They already have." I forced myself to smile. "But hey, I'll take comfort that it will takebothof them to satisfy you in bed the way I can."

She forced a smile of her own. I hated that we were talking about this shit. I wanted to prepare her, though. And prepare me. "I love you, Rebel. I always will. And leaving you will be like dying without the hope of getting to Heaven."

Her tears were falling freely now. I kissed them away, holding her tight.

When she calmed a little, she lifted her hand to my face. “Let’s just enjoy the time we do have.” Camille kissed me, her tongue circling mine. A glint in her eyes, her hand made its way down over my chest and stomach. She gripped my cock, her slender fingers running along the length of my shaft.

Fuck, this girl…

One touch, one look, and I'd been a goner from the start. I'd be in hell when I could no longer have her, but I'd have the memory of her to sustain me until the day I died.

Chapter 37

Camille

Iwoke up to the sight of Kage's back, his muscles shifting as he stretched. The lines of his body were etched in the soft morning light, each movement graceful and strong, a reminder of how easily he carried himself, even with the weight of everything we were dealing with. A pang stung in my chest. After graduation, I wouldn’t get to wake up next to him. Now, more than ever after our conversation last night, I was all too aware of how limited our time together was. I reached out to trace his skin. I didn’t know how I could go back to a life without him...

He turned to face me and smiled. "Morning. How about I take you out for breakfast?"

I propped myself up on one elbow. "Is that your way of saying you're feeling too lazy to make me something?" I teased.

He leaned in for a quick kiss. His lips were soft against mine, a brief, comforting touch that sent warmth through me. "Maybe. But first, I've got something for you. And no, it's not another vibrator egg, though we still haven't used the first one."

"I can see you're really attached to that idea. Butyouwere going to name the time and place. Or did you forget?”

Kage's smile widened. His eyes glinted with that playful edge that, compared to his usual intensity, always made my heart race. "Oh, I remember.” He nodded toward the nightstand. "Open the drawer."

I reached into his nightstand drawer, my eyes widening when I pulled out a sleek, black weapon.

It was heavier than I expected, cold and solid in my hands. Holy shit, he got me a gun. Of all the things I thought it might be, a gun was not on the list. I'd shot guns before, of course, in CU night class weapons training. But unlike my sister Bianca, I was a horrible shot.

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