Page 128 of The Bittersweet Bond

"I get it," he murmured, his icy blue eyes locking onto hers. "We’ll take it slow."

Then, he leaned down and kissed her—softly, tenderly.

His lips were warm, familiar.

He tasted like he always did.

Like him. Like safety. Like home.

Chapter 36

Fire In Her Eyes

Sebastian

The fire in her eyes made him burn—a feeling so overwhelming, he could barely stand it.

She was so beautiful, so vulnerable in her strength, that it nearly broke him.

He wanted to yell at her, to kiss her, to beg for forgiveness, and at the same time, to tell her she could never look at him like that—*not* with that mixture of pain and disappointment that tightened around his throat like a noose.

Her words echoed in his head: "I’m not enough..."

Bullshit.

She is more than enough, and she doesn't even know it.

He couldn’t let her keep tearing herself down, acting like she had no place in his life—like he wasn’t already buried so deep inside hers that there was no getting out. His hands trembled, and he shoved them into the pockets of his jacket, forcing them to stay still.

But when he looked at her—head lowered, shoulders weighed down as if she was carrying the whole damn world—he couldn’t stand there any longer.

"Evin," he said quietly, his voice rough, heavy. "I don’t give a fuck about my world."

Her head snapped up, her eyes shimmering with unsaid emotions. He knew she would fight this, that she wouldn’t believe him.

Maybe she didn’t want to.

He closed the distance between them, gripping her arms gently—but his fingers dug just a little too tightly into her coat, as if that could somehow keep her in place.

"Do you hear me?" His voice was steady, but his pulse was anything but.

"Nothing—nothing—about the shit you tell yourself is true. You are more than anything I deserve. More than anything I ever even wanted. I will show you. Maybe not tonight, but you'll see."

__________

Evin

She opened her mouth to say something—something sharp, something final—but the words wouldn’t come. Before she could react, she felt his hands on her hips. Firm. Unyielding.

“Bas, what are you doing?” Her voice was barely a whisper, laced with both shock and something she couldn’t name.

She didn’t move. Didn’t push him away. She just let it happen as he pulled her against him with effortless certainty.

“This.” His voice was rough, low, a murmur against her skin as he lifted her. As if she was something that belonged to him.

Evin gasped, hands pressing against his chest—but not hard enough to stop him.

“Put me down!”

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