Page 132 of The Delta's Rogue
“You didn’t have those tattoos on your ribs before,” I say, hoping the discussion will distract her from her fear. My fingers trace along her spine, up and down, coaxing her heart and her breathing to slow.
“Brenna hid them. She must have removed the spell. Or maybe the magic wore off since we’re so far away now.”
“No, I meanbeforebefore. When we were together. Before you left. You spent a lot of time without…” I clear my throat. “I would remember tattoos.”
“I got them after I left. To help me remember.”
My hand slides to her side, on top of her ribs, right where the tattoos are. “What do they say?”
“Nosotros somos las estrellas. Prometo que te encontraré. Te amo.”
I translate the words in my mind as she repeats them to me from memory.We are the stars. I promise I will find you. I love you.
My throat tightens, my eyes itch, and I blow out a breath through my lips.
“They’re the words you said to me during our last night together,” she adds before I can say anything to her, before I can compose myself enough to proclaim what it means to have my words inked into her skin.
“I know,” I choke out. “I remember everything about that night. Every touch, every moment, every word. But I never said…”
I swallow back my protest. I didn’t say “te amo” to her, but Ididsay it. I said it in my mind when I realized she was my mate. I pushed the words to her through time and space, even though I knew she wouldn’t hear them.
Maybe, somehow, she did.
She takes my face in her hands and, with her thumb, swipes away the lone tear falling down my cheek. “I imagined you saying those words countless times. I heard you say them to me in my dreams, like a star dancing through the galaxies or a grain of sand that’s traveled the world. But no dream will ever compare to hearing you say them to me in person.” Her fingertips travel over my face, leaving trails of stardust in their wake. “I still can’t believe you found me. That you’re here and that this is all real.”
“I know. But I promise I’m real. That this is all real.”
Her lips split into a brief, tiny smile. Her hands drift away from my face, stopping next to her cheek where she rests it right above my heart. With each beat, the weights on my eyelids grow heavier. With each breath, my body sinks further into the mattress.
“Sebastián?” she says into the quiet room, yanking me from near sleep.
“Yes?”
“I love you too.” Her voice is as quiet as a leaf falling from a tree to the forest floor.
Everything in me rejoices at her confession. Infinite are the times I’ve pretended my fantasies of her confessing her love to me were more than illusions.
She’s right.
Nothing will ever compare to the real thing.
Lights flash. Music pulses.My heart pounds a syncopated rhythm with the beat. It’s loud to me, but the volume of the music and the voices drown out my heartbeat for anyone else.
I turn my head to better see the faces of those surrounding me, but it’s yanked back into its original position. I stare at the ceiling, at the strobing and flashing lights in a rainbow of colors. Bucking against the restraints, I try to move again but to no avail. My bound limbs and collared neck are all attached to a table or a bed or some flat, horizontal device that prevents me from having control over my body.
The palpitating cadence of my heart picks up to an uncontrollable, unmatchable pace. My chest heaves with each breath I take to calm myself.
Faces swim in and out of my vision, each with non-distinct features. Except for their eyes. Their eyes devour and taunt, roaming freely over my vulnerable body.
“No.” I shake my head and tug at the bindings holding me in place. “No,” I repeat as more and more eyes blink into existence, lingering on the parts of me I’m unwillingly displaying.
As one, the faces loom over me, descending upon me in a synchronized attack. Hands stretch, reaching for me and floating above me. They never land on my skin, but they torment me, drawing closer with each pass.
It’s only a matter of time before one of them makes good on their unspoken threat.
A hand brushes loose hair away from my face, breaking the invisible barrier around me. It trails down my cheek before gripping it firmly, and I scream and flail, trying everything I can to break free from the chains.
“Please, no! I can’t! I can’t give you what you want!” With a screaming sob, I back away, kicking my attacker and scratching at their forearm.“¡No puedo darte lo que quieres!”I clutch at the blanket and press my body into the pillows, panting and crying and shaking with each movement I make.
