Chapter 61
CEZAR
It didn’t take long before Lina was discharged. She was stubborn as hell—and her people were even worse—so there was no universe in which she stayed longer than she wanted.
The ride home was silent. The second the car rolled to a stop outside the house, I was halfway out, ready to sprint around and snatch her up like some damsel in distress. All I cared about was getting her inside where she belonged.
Vali waited by the door, eyes glossy with worry.
I rounded the hood and headed for Lina’s side.
When I swung the door open, she was sitting with her arms crossed, staring at me with that look, the one that said, you’re ridiculous, and I’m going to tolerate it, but only because you’re cute when you’re pathetic.
She didn’t fight me. She didn’t roll her eyes or snap some sarcastic line. She just let me have this one.
I cradled her through the doorway, let her greet Vali, then took her straight into the kitchen, where Dorin had left food.
The house had gone quiet. I carried her upstairs, ignoring her half-hearted struggle and cursing.
In her room, I laid her down gently on the bed. For a second, I just stood there, watching her breathe. My Petal. My Lina. My reason for dragging myself through the hell that was our life.
I’d already told her I loved her. Those words terrified me, but the way she looked at me afterward like maybe I wasn’t just some fucked-up monster… that made every scar worth it.
I sat on the edge of the mattress, letting my knuckles graze her cheek. “You should rest.”
Her lips tugged into a faint smirk. “You’re terrible at taking your own advice, Cezar.”
“Funny.” I leaned in and kissed her—taking my time. She kissed me back, fingers catching on my shirt, pulling me down until there was no space left between us. For the first time in too long, the heat between us wasn’t destruction. It was dangerous in an entirely different way.
When I pulled back, my forehead rested against hers, and I found myself asking, “Do you trust me?”
Her lashes fluttered. A pause, thick with unspoken things. Then, “Yes.”
That one word was all it took.
I stripped off my shirt, climbed over her, careful not to move her too much. Her hand roamed my back, tracing scars, stopping here and there. She pulled me down, lips claiming mine again, deeper this time, hunger eating at the sweetness.
Guiding her, I settled against the headboard and eased her onto my lap. She straddled me, legs braced against my sides as if she belonged there. The feel of her pressed against me through the thin barrier of clothes nearly killed me.
Her fingers fumbled with my belt since she was trying not to use her arm, and the sound of it coming undone was enough to make me groan.
I helped her, stripping away what remained until nothing stood between us anymore.
She shifted, grinding down against me, her breath catching when the head of my cock slid against her wetness.
“Take what you want, Petal,” I breathed against her lips.
Take everything from me.
She guided me inside her inch by inch until I was buried in her. My entire body stilled, the sensation overwhelming. Fuck. I’d fucked before—too many times—but with her, it felt like making love.
She moved with slow rolls of her hips that stole every breath I tried to take. Her nails dug into my shoulders, scoring my skin as she leaned in and kissed me, her hair falling between us in red silk, skimming my jaw and chest.
Every gasp she gave, every spasm of her thighs, I worshipped it.
Remember this. Carve it. Don’t ever forget the way she looked when she was mine.
Her pace quickened, riding me harder, chasing her release. The sound of her moans, the way her body clamped around me—it felt so fucking good. When she broke, when her head tipped back, and she cried out my name, I put my arms around her, holding her so she couldn’t drift too far from me.
“Mine,” I growled into her ear, the word raw.
I love you. I fucking love you.
She was still shaking when I followed her over the edge, losing myself deep inside her, claiming her completely—claiming her the way I was always meant to.
I will never let her go, not now, not ever.
In that moment, with her trembling in my arms, her breath warm against my throat, her body wrapped around mine—
I was home.