Chapter 69
Aleksandr
Exclusivity
Staring at her, I experienced a range of emotions so deep I hardly recognized myself.
It was a powerful and all-consuming force that ran through my veins.
My heart filled with warmth and tenderness toward the tiny dancer who stole my heart.
Bash whispered in her ear, and her little face radiated such love.
“Go on, you’ve got three more to go.”
He pushed her back toward the table with the cards. She once more studied them, and this time, without any hesitation, she flipped a card over. Glancing at Nik with a sly grin on her face, she showed it to him.
The card was green with two crows on it, signaling he had two different gifts for her. He stood and strolled over to the gift table, bringing back his bags. She went to grab them, and he held them out of her reach. She was so excited she couldn’t contain herself.
I vowed to ensure she always looked the way she did right then—happy.
He handed her the large bag, and she reached in and pulled out a Squishmallow. She squealed and her face lit up. “These are for when you miss us, baby girl. There is one for each of us.”
She traced the one with the reaper skull. “I love it. Look, Reap, you can sleep with me even when it’s not your night!”
A playful smile danced upon her lips as I shook my head at her silliness. She reached for another one and laughed.
“Look, Blade, it’s custom made to look exactly like yours.” His was shaped like a GhostFace with a blade in the center of it. She hugged it to her body before reaching in for the last one.
She pulled it out, looking confused. It had a crow on the front and was equipped with a strap sewn in. She raised her eyebrow in question.
“Nik, what is this for?” she finally asked. Her innocent eyes were wide.
The room erupted with laughter as all of us caught on. Nik didn’t even slightly look embarrassed. He puffed his chest out and said, “I had a replica made of my cock. It attaches right here.” He touched the middle part of the strap.
Her face turned ten shades darker, and she sputtered. “A what? A real, live replica. How? I mean, thank you. So that’s really a thing? Can I see it?” She tore through the bag in search of it.
“I’ve got it tucked away for later, baby girl.”
“Oh,” she said, looking momentarily sad. “Is it here, though, or at home? I just want to prepare myself. I can have you in my…and my…” Her voice trailed off, and she clamped her hand over her mouth as the room filled with laughter.
Nik wasn’t done. “Sit, please,” he commanded, and she nodded. “Last one from me.”
She grew serious under his intense stare. He fished in the other bag and pulled out a framed document. With a flourish, he handed it to her.
“This is my pledge to you, Kinsley Anya,” he began, his voice filled with sincerity. “It’s my promise to forsake all others, to devote my heart, mind, body, and soul to you and you alone.”
“Oh my god. Look, guys!” She flipped it over and showed us. “It’s an official exclusivity agreement. I love you so much. I promise you right here and now that I will be the best baby girl you’ve ever had in your life.”
She hugged the frame to her chest, her eyes filled with affection.
“That’s not all.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet.
It was a classic Dom bracelet, black leather with a ring in the center. It had two jeweled skulls on either side. He handed it to her. She looked at it and then at him in confusion. It wasn’t for a woman.
“You’re the center of my world, and this solidifies my token of unwavering commitment to you. Go on, read it aloud for the peanut gallery.”
She delicately took it from the box, and on the black leather straps was an inscription. “Property of Kinsley Anya.”
He extended his wrist to her. She rose from the chair, clutching the bracelet.
In perfect form, she dropped to her knees in front of him.
Her fingers trembled as she reached up and pulled his wrist to her mouth.
She dusted it with small kisses before clasping the bracelet around his wrist. The act was symbolic, a pledge of his promise that his heart belonged to her and her alone.
He lifted her chin and said, “As long as this bracelet adorns my wrist, I am yours. It’s a tangible reminder that you are my end all, be all.
I will wear it every day there is air in my lungs and a pulse in my heart.
Forever. You make the mundane extraordinary, and everything about you speaks to the depths of my soul. ”
He paused and had to clear his throat. Tilting her face up, he caressed her cheek. There was something profound about watching him humble himself with our girl. A deep warmth spread through me. Seeing my twin, my other half, confess his love to the same woman I cherished was significant.
The connection we shared, both as brothers and now in our love for her, was rare and precious. His sincerity, the way his eyes softened whenever he looked at her, mirrored my own feelings. And I felt an overwhelming sense of completeness as I watched them.
“Every part of you, even those dark parts you try to hide, I love. When I’m away from you, I long to hold you close, to hear your voice raised in song, to have it wash over me like a cleansing rush of water.
I love you with my whole heart.” He stopped once more.
The emotions in the room were heavy and thick.
He didn’t often show this side of himself.
“And more importantly, my love for you is unwavering and transcends the physical realm.”
“A soul tie,” she whispered.
“Yeah, baby girl, a soul tie.”
Tears fell from her beautiful eyes as he confessed his love to her. He pulled her up from her knees and kissed her before releasing her with a gentle shove toward the table.
“Go on, pick. You’ve got the Blade’s and the Reaper’s gifts left,” Nik said.
She turned, the soft rustle of her pretty little dress swaying around her.
With graceful steps, she approached the two remaining cards.
Her fingers brushed against the edge of the table as she took her time in choosing.
Then, with a flourish, she turned one over.
A playful smile danced on her lips as she held it to her chest.
“It’s my beloved,” she whispered.
Ivan stepped forward, his movements filled with a nervous energy. The lug had absolutely nothing to be nervous about, yet he was. There was so much tension in his posture it wasn’t even funny. His fingers twitched as he wiped his hands on his jeans.
He reached for his gift. The wrapping paper crinkled beneath his touch, the only sound in the room as we waited.
With a steadying breath, he turned back toward Kinsley.
His gaze filled with apprehension at the prospect of baring his heart, but he strode over as she looked up at him with loving eyes.
“It’s not much, but in my heart, it felt right, so I hope you will appreciate the gesture.” The bag shook as his hand trembled violently.
Bash chuckled, and I kicked his foot to shut him up. I’d never seen Ivan this nervous before. Did he really think she wouldn’t like his gift? I shook my head. She sensed it as well and reached out her hand to touch him.
“My beloved, I appreciate everything you do for me. You are my heart.”
He heaved and gave her a soft smile. “And you’re mine, and so I present this to you.”
He dropped to his knees, and she startled. I sat forward, as did Nik. He sat the bag down next to her and reached inside. Pulling out a long, thin aqua-blue box. She gingerly took it and traced the pretty bow on top.
“It’s so pretty.”
“Just like you, but it’s what’s inside I hope you’ll love more. Please open it,” he breathed.
Pulling the ends, she untied it carefully. “It’s heavy, too.”
Her eyes met mine, then trailed over to Nik’s. I could see the question in her eyes. Ivan’s head was bowed, and she sensed his inner turmoil in that special way she had.
“My beloved,” she called.
He lifted his gaze and took a deep breath.
“I know you understand the importance of what the five of us do. My gift to you is twofold as well, similar to Nik’s.
It’s a his-and-hers kind of thing. I’ve never met a stronger or braver woman than you.
If it were up to me alone, I would have you sporting a tiny skull tattoo and by my side when I don black.
” He paused and flicked his eyes to the four of us sitting across from them.
“Unfortunately, little love, I was outvoted. Go on, open it.”
With careful hands, she lifted the lid and gasped. Her hands traced the gleaming blade, the one he always wore. His prized possession. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she saw what he’d done to his blade.
“Ivan, you put my name on it? You put my name on your blade? I…uh…I don’t know—”
“Take it out and turn it over.” His voice was full of emotion.
With trembling fingers, she turned the blade over carefully and promptly burst into tears. “It’s me. You put me on your blade?”
She brought it to her chest and hugged it like she’d done with the damned Squishmallows.
“Easy, now,” Sebastian barked.
She pulled it back and traced the engraved image, then turned it around for all of us to see. She stood proudly and walked behind Ivan.
“May I, Sir?” she asked sweetly.
He was still on one knee and looked back as she unsnapped his empty sheath. She carefully worked the blade into its home on his belt. She traced his shoulders as she came around in front of him once more.
“From now on, you’ll be with me everywhere I go.” He dug into the bag once more and pulled out a smaller box. “And it only seems fitting I present a piece of me to you, so that you know you are never alone.”
He held the box out, and she undid the bow and lifted the lid.
“It’s beautiful.”
She pulled out a miniature replica of his blade. Even though I couldn’t see it from where I sat, I knew it held an engraved image of him. The flip side had his name engraved on it.
He grabbed her lower half fiercely, kissing her right thigh, while still kneeling. He reached into the bag a final time and pulled out a garter strap. Grinning, he proceeded to push her dress up and secure it to her thigh. He adjusted it and then placed the blade into the sheath.
“Little love, my greatest desire is to drown in you so that nobody can find me. Without you, I would not know what love is. You brought it into my life and made me the happiest man in the world. I’ll die without you.”
His gaze pierced hers, and his right hand reached behind him. He released the snap and pulled his blade. Something profound happened between them, another one of their silent exchanges. She pushed her dress back and pulled hers.
“Kinsley, you are flesh of my flesh.” He nodded, and each of them grabbed each other’s free hands. “And blood of my blood.” They each made a tiny cut on each other’s thumbs.
“I’ll lay down my life for you, bleed for you, until my dying day. You are mine, and I am yours.”
“And I bleed for you, my beloved, forevermore, for all of eternity.”
I fucking shivered at their profound words. Connection and intimacy swirled around all of us as their symbolic declarations spoke of their unbreakable bond.
Lightning fast, she moved. That pretty mouth of hers parted slowly, lips wrapping around his thumb like a promise.
Her tongue flicked over the pad, and I felt the shift in the air.
The tiniest moan erupted from her lips as her eyes fluttered closed while he mirrored her and sucked hers into his mouth.
With a soft kiss, he released her thumb. She wrapped her arms around him, and he stood, lifting her like she was a prize he’d won.
He looked over at me as if to say, “I did it.” I couldn’t have been prouder of him. But now it was my turn to feel nervous.
“I’m not a dancer, but I’ll twirl you around a few times and then let Alek give you his gift. Something tells me you’re going to need tissues for his. Lots of them,” Ivan said with the goofiest grin on his face.
“Now you’ve got me worried,” she exclaimed, straightening her dress as he put her down.