Page 157 of In Shadows We Dance

"It was Alexandra's. She never danced without it. Said it carried the soul of every performance, every role she ever brought to life on stage."

Her eyes widen as she reaches out, fingers hovering just above the pendant.

"It’s beautiful.” Her voice catches. I've seen her stop countless times in front of my grandmother's photographs, studying the delicate pendant that always graced her throat.

"The prima ballerina of Ravencrest." I catch her hand, pressing it against the pendant. "Mother said it's time it belonged to you.You brought dance back to these halls. You brought life back to this family."

Tears shine in her eyes. "Wren, I can't ... This is too much. Your family history?—"

I turn her gently, brushing her hair aside.

"You are my family now." When I clasp the necklace around her throat, my fingers linger on her pulse, feeling it jump beneath my touch. The silk slip does nothing to hide her heat, the way she leans back into me, her body responding to my closeness.

"Dance with me," she whispers, and I know she's remembering that first night too. When fear and desire twisted together until neither of us could tell them apart.

Instead of answering, I spin her to face me, capturing her mouth with mine. She meets my intensity, her surrender never weak, never timid. She gives herself to me fully, knowing that I'll never let her go.

My hands drop to her waist, pulling her against me as I walk her backward. The cool mirror presses against her back, her skin burning beneath my hands.

"Someone might see."

"There's no one here but us." I bite where her pulse races. "And if someone is watching, let them. Let them see who you belong to."

Her fingers twist in my hair, pulling me closer instead of pushing away. She’s changed so much from the girl who used to hide, who never understood her own beauty until I showed her.

"The ceremony is in less than ten hours." My tongue teases the spot I just marked. "Having second thoughts?"

Her laugh is breathless as my hands push the silk of her slip higher. "Never. You know exactly where I belong."

There’s a challenge in her eyes, a fire that refuses to be tamed. Every touch, every kiss, every mark I leave on her skin is a reminder of how far we've come, of how completely she’s embraced the darkness we share.

"Mine." The word is a growl as I lift her, her legs wrapping around my waist. Her hand pushes beneath my waistband of my sweats and her fingers wrap around my dick. I can’t contain a groan. "Now and always."

"Yours," she whispers against my lips, pulling me closer. "But you're mine too."

She’s right. I’ve always been hers. Before my father signed over Ravencrest. Before Agent Miller tried to take her away from me. Before everything shifted into this perfect balance of possession and surrender. Before I knew she was anything but a puzzle to be solved.

Her head falls back as I claim every inch of exposed skin with my mouth. Moonlight turns the marks I leave into art, a canvas only I get to paint. The pendant at her throat catches the light, a piece of my history shared. A truth offered freely.

"Tell me." Her voice breaks on a gasp as I push inside her.

I still for a moment, and tilt my head, smiling down at her.

“Tell you what, Ballerina?”

Her fingers tighten in my hair, and her gaze turns fierce. “Tell me!”

"No one will ever cage you again." A thrust punctuates each word, drawing sounds from her that feed something primal in my blood. "You will never hide. You’ll never fade away. You’ll never become invisible. You're mine to protect now. Mine to mark. Mine to love."

The words carry more than just possession. Her nails dig into my shoulders as she gets close. Every sound she makes, every reaction she can't hide, every mark she leaves on my skin proves how far we've come from that first dance in this ballroom. This is what I saw in her from the beginning.

This fire. This grace. This perfect surrender to darkness.

When she comes, it's with my name on her lips and moonlight painting her skin silver. I follow seconds later, marking her inside and out. Claiming every piece of her existence.

Tomorrow we'll make it official, though we've belonged to each other since that first moment in the school cafeteria. Tomorrow we’ll exchange vows that can never capture the true depth of what we share.

But tonight belongs to us alone. To the ballroom where I first claimed her. To the legacy Alexandra left in photographs and paintings. To the darkness that binds us more surely than any ceremony ever could.

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