Chapter 69

** Paige’s POV ** When it’s done, and the last shudder runs through us, he doesn’t let go. He stays buried deep, wrapped around me like he’s terrified I’ll disappear if he loosens his hold. His lips are still on my neck, gently kissing the spot he claimed. Each kiss feels a vow that no force in this world will ever tear us apart again. Tears come before I can stop them, rolling down my cheeks as emotion overwhelms me. I feel it all through now. His deep love and adoration for me, but also the pain of everything he carried when I wasn’t here. The loneliness that gnawed at him. The ache in his chest with every sunrise I wasn’t beside him. The endless longing, and the strength it took him to stay away from me. I feel something else too… relief and peace of finally being whole, of finally having what he thought he’d lost forever. It breaks me. He pulls back then, just enough to see me. His lips and chin are smeared with the faintest trace of red, but it’s his eyes that undo me completely.