Page 164 of The Sin Binder's Chains

His hands flail in front of him like they’re trying to physically toss the weight of his confession away, and he’s breathing hard, like he just sprinted through an emotional war zone.

I stare at him, open-mouthed, trying to decide if I should laugh, kiss him, or slap the chaos right out of his mouth.

He misreads the silence, of course, he does, and barrels on.

“I know it sounds insane, and you’re probably about to tell me to go drown myself in the Void, but just, don’t. I can’t do this casual thing anymore. Not with you. I can’t sleep next to you and pretend like it doesn’t mean anything, like you’re not the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing before I pass out trying not to dream about you.”

“Elias, ”

“No, let me finish,” he rushes, holding up both hands like he’s about to fend off a physical blow. “You make me feel things. Like actual, functioning emotions. Not just the sexy, sarcastic ones. Like… hope. And guilt. And longing. And, god, I hate longing. It’s so fucking dramatic. But you, you broke something in me, and now I can’t go back.”

His voice cracks near the end, and I realize this is the closest I’ve ever seen him come to falling apart not with anger, not with humor, but with feeling. Raw, devastating, messy feeling.

“You done?” I ask quiet.

He nods, biting his lip like he regrets every word already.

I step closer, until there’s no space left between us. His breath catches, his eyes darting to mine, to my mouth, to anywhere but the emotions I’m letting him see.

“Good,” I say. “Because if you ever compare our bond to sentient moss again, I will drown you in the Void.”

He blinks. Then laughs. A breathy, disbelieving sound that ends with his forehead pressed to mine, his shoulders dropping like I just lifted the entire fucking world off them.

“I love you, too, idiot,” I murmur, and his arms wrap around me like he’s afraid I’ll vanish.

---