Page 136 of The Oath We Give

My eyebrow lifts. “Can you stop buying me shit, please?”

“Stop being easy to buy for and I’ll think about it.” He mutters, leaning forward and placing a kiss on my forehead before producing a black box from his pocket.

Despite my fear of tomorrow, I let myself have this moment with him. Unsure of how many more I may get. Knowing in my heart that I’d do something stupid if it meant he was safe. Even if it made him hate me.

He flicks the box open with a pop.

“How very alpha male of you,” I laugh as I look down at the nipple rings resting on top the plush material. “You afraid I’ll forget your initials?”

Two silver nipple rings, crafted with the initials S and H on each side, stare up at me.

“My mom gave you her shoes for something old. Lilac gave you something blue. This is something new.” His eyes darken. Those eyes like sodden earth, steady ground in which life could grow but chose not to. A place to settle roots and bloom. “As a reminder of who you belong to.”

My teeth sink into my bottom lip. “In a fake way or in a real way?”

His fingers move to tuck a piece of loose hair behind my ear, a habit of his that I’m growing fond of. “Nothing about us has ever been fake, Coraline.”

He steps closer, neither of us saying anything as I search his face, eyes darting between his gaze and his lips. Silas’s breath fans across my face, slowly leaning in until his lips are barely hovering above mine.

My hands rest on his chest, pushing him back just a bit.

“I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. There is something wrong with me.” I mumble.

Large palms enclose around my hips, tugging me into his hard chest. “Touching you has always felt like more of a gift than any curse, Hex.”

“And if it kills you?”

“Would hurt less than never kissing you again.”

The pads of his thumbs brush over the curves of my hips, warming my skin. I detail every inch of his jawline with my fingers, the skin soft beneath my touch before he presses forward, sealing our mouths together.

I shouldn’t be doing this. Not when I know what I’m going to do after today. I shouldn’t let him in, just to break my heart and his by pushing him away.

But his lips are addictive, the way they devour every inch of me, drinking me down like he can’t ever get enough of me. My body is a well that he loves to drown in.

“Be a good girl and take your shirt off.” He nips at my bottom lip, tugging the material of my shirt upwards towards my chest.

Desire washes over me, wanting to succumb to the pleasure of being with Silas one last time. I just want to be selfish for one more moment. So I let my body have this and hope he touches me so deeply, I’ll never be rid of him.

I abide by his rules, finishing the job of removing my shirt. He knows me well enough to know there is no bra underneath, because his palms are there to grasp my boobs. Squeezing the soft flesh, making me arch into him with a gasp.

Fire burns in my lower stomach, hands gripping his shoulders for support as he buries his face into the side of my neck. Lips settling against the soft spot between my neck and shoulder.

“Silas.” I moan, feeling the pressure of his mouth. “I can’t hide hickies in my wedding dress.”

“Good.” He grunts, biting down on my throat to prove his point, “Let them all know that you belong to me. This body, those witchy lips, your heart. It’s all mine.”

I knew by the time we were done; my skin was going to be littered with purple and red marks. Marked and tainted by his mouth for the world to know that I’m his.

Even if it’s just for a few more days.

My arms wind around his neck, one second, I’m on the ground and the next I’m lifted by my thighs, legs wrapping around his hips causing my shoes to fall off as he turns walks us backwards.

My hands are greedy, tracing the lines of his shoulders and face as he kneels on the ground. Laying my body horizontally across the floor.

I gasp as my back hits something cold and wet.

“What—"

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