Chapter 67
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule sixty-seven: Burn the dress.
Lips ghost across the junction of my neck, but I don’t startle, even as Sin becomes visible behind me. I figured he was up to something the moment his thoughts were hidden.
Instead, I lean back in my office chair to kiss him gently on the lips.
“Still working?” He asks in a low murmur.
“Always,” I answer with a small laugh.
I recap my colored pen and put it back in my stationery drawer.
The mind map I’ve been working on all morning is a tangled mess.
There are a few big bubbles in the middle with words like ‘Fates? Nymara? Demigod children? Titans?’ and then a bunch of smaller bubbles that branch out, with different ideas of how to approach them.
I’ve also added lines, trying to show how they’re connected, but now it just looks like a demented spiderweb.
Sighing, I tuck it away into a file.
It’s a future Vivian problem.
Sin leaves heated kisses down my throat as I do it.
“I think you deserve a break, kitten. After all, there’s a thing in the Mortal Realm called weekends. We wouldn’t want you to burn out,” he purrs, and I laugh as he throws back my own words at me.
He spins my chair to face him, and I smirk at the way his mischievous grin drops when he takes in what I’m wearing.
It’s the tight gray dress I wore the day I was supposed to die – the one he promised we’d burn, while he fucked me in front of the flames.
It’s only been a couple of weeks since the war ended, but every minute has been filled with work as we try to forge peace and undo all the damage from Need’s rule.
Sin and I have hardly had a moment to ourselves, and I’ve been bone-tired the moments I finally stop to rest.
His gaze heats as he wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me against him. I can already feel him hardening against me, and anticipation coils low in my stomach.
His other hand traces the curve of my ass, and he groans when he can’t find any underwear lines.
A low growl rumbles up through him. “Time to go,” he notes, before tossing me over his shoulder.
A moment later, we both become invisible.
I yelp, laughing. “Where?”
“The beach, kitten. We’re having a bonfire.”
“Come here,” Sin coaxes in my mind.
Water laps against my waist, and I stand transfixed, watching the amber glow from the flames dance across his features.
He’s waiting for me in the deeper water, and his eyes are devouring me.
My pulse quickens, and I know I’m looking at him the same way.
The fire has already been burning for hours, and our clothes are long gone. We’re supposed to be cooling off and rinsing the sweat away.
My legs are still shaky from the amount of orgasms he’s given me.
Sin prowls closer, and I raise a brow. “Should I be worried about you? Can immortals get dehydrated?”
I’m teasing, considering I don’t feel any discomfort through our bond. Still, his stamina is jaw-dropping.
He throws me a wicked grin, and in the next second, my legs are wrapped around his waist, and his body is flush against mine.
I clench my thighs around him, and our eyes meet.
Awe, love, contentedness, and unbridled need flow through the bond as our emotions tangle.
“Oh, you should be very worried,” he whispers as he arches me back to suck on one of my nipples.
“And why’s that?” I ask, a little breathless.
He hums, dragging his teeth across the sensitive peak, before pulling me back against him. “You’ve just washed off every trace of me, and now I’m going to need to fill up every one of your holes.” His hands settle on my ass, spreading me open.
My core tightens as the desire between us continues to build. The head of his cock slides against my entrance, still sensitive from just moments before, when he fucked me until I saw stars.
I grind against him, his tip just barely entering me.
His low voice ghosts over the sensitive shell of my ear, “I want to fuck you until it’s impossible to wash me away. I want you so filled with me that even when we’re apart, you’ll still feel me inside you. And unless you tell me to stop, I’ll do it every time my scent dares to leave your body.”
He slowly pushes into me, and every inch sends shockwaves of pleasure rolling through me.
“Is that what you want? Do you want to be so completely claimed that not a single soul will dare question that you’re mine?” he purrs.
He drives in deep enough to steal my breath, and I throw my head back with a moan.
Sin fists his hand in my hair, gently tugging me back to look at him.
“Words, kitten,” he coaxes, pulling back just an inch, before thrusting into me.
A breath gets caught in my throat as I take in his intense expression, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that he’s being serious.
The thought sends a fresh wave of heat pulsing through me.
I lean up so that our lips are just a hair’s breadth apart. “Yes. You’re mine, Sin. And I want you to make me yours in every way possible.”
His fingers tighten against me, and something like vulnerability pulses through the bond.
I pull back, just enough to take in his expression.
“Marry me,” he whispers, eyes searching mine.
My heart stutters.
I barely get out a breathless “okay,” before his mouth crashes against mine.
His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming me, and joy pulses between our bond.
I kiss him just as passionately, needing him to feel how much he means to me, how there is no universe where I wouldn’t choose him.
I catch his lower lip between my teeth. “I’m yours, Sin. Take me.”
He groans, lifting my ass and slamming into me, hard.
I moan, and he starts fucking me like we’ve waited lifetimes to find each other.
“Mine. My mate. My wife. My eternity,” he says the words fervently, as he claims every last part of me.
The moon is high in the sky by the time we curl up together on a blanket. I’m staring up at the stars, but I turn when I feel Sin’s eyes on me.
He’s watching me like he still can’t believe I’m real, and it makes my heart dance. His fingers trace over my arm, and his body is pressed against mine, warming me from the slight chill in the air.
I bite my lip in an attempt not to smile as I try again, “Sin, you have to take it off.”
The words are supposed to come out sternly.
I fail miserably.
His gaze flickers down to my neck, where a second golden necklace sits, a little higher against my throat.
I finger the small charm, still trying not to laugh at the audacity of this man. It’s a small golden pendant, with the words ‘Property of Sin’ engraved on both sides.
He smirks, barely containing his own amusement.
“Sin…” I warn, finally breaking and bursting out into laughter.
He lets out a slow sigh, but it turns into a chuckle partway through. “Okay, okay, no pet tag,” he relents, and with a pulse of his energy, the necklace unclasps.
I’m pulling off the necklace when Sin catches my hand and holds it before me.
My brow furrows, wondering what he’s up to now.
He kisses my fingers, meeting my eyes before glancing back at my hand. “Then what about this, instead?”
Following his gaze, I look down and find a small band of his red Destroyer power, curled around my ring finger. It’s warm against my skin.
“This one will stay with you forever, if you want it,” he whispers.
Sin is one of the most terrifyingly dangerous creatures in the universe, and now a band of his power, strong enough to end realms, sits against my skin.
Warmth fills my chest.
“It’s perfect,” I answer, even as happy tears flow down my cheeks.
He’s gentle as he cups my face and kisses them away. “I love you, kitten.”
“I love you, too,” I answer, and his lips find mine.
Happiness floods me, and the feeling is stronger than I ever thought possible. Not because I turned out not to be broken, but because this man loves me for my jagged broken edges, just as I love the darkness that lives in the depths of his soul.
He pulls me closer, and I melt into his warmth.
I will spend the rest of my life feeling grateful that I chose to keep fighting.
To keep living.
Because every one of those choices led me to him.
And now, I can’t wait to see what eternity looks like by his side.