Page 133 of Claimed In Darkness

I want to drag her back, but she is already too far gone.

She is leaving me.

Nair already has. She kisses me first.

Soft. Sweet.

Like she wants to memorize the way I feel beneath her lips.

Tomorrow—she will be my enemy.

That tomorrow—I will have to choose between her and myself.

That tomorrow—she will no longer be mine.

I kiss her back because I am a coward.

There’s no stopping this kiss. I want to savor this moment as much as she does.

I want to keep her, even as she is ripping herself away from me.

I want to make sure she remembers.

Even when she is standing against me.

Even when she is looking at me with empty, hollow eyes.

Even when she is holding a weapon to my throat.

I want her to fucking remember that I was the one who loved her first.

And I will be the last.

Her fingers slide into my hair, pulling me closer, her breath mingling with mine.

And I almost tell her.

I almost say it.

The words that have been caged in my throat for so long.

The words that will not save us, but will ruin me for the rest of my life.

"I love you."

But the words refuse to form.

If I say it, she will leave me faster.

If I say it, she will know that I cannot stop her.

If I utter these words, I will never recover from what happens next.

She will know that she has won.

That she has fucking destroyed me.

So instead, I hold her tighter.

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