Page 151 of Rose
“Loving again is terrifying. But you never pressured me to. These two rings around my neck…” she paused, reaching up to the thin chain that hung between her collarbones, “they’ve been a reminder of a love I thought I’d never experience again. A perfect love. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.”
“But since meeting you—this Savior, this chaos—I realized that love can come again. It can look different. It can be louder, messier, but just as real.”
“So, Savior Khaos Carter… I love you too. And I want to show you that by taking off this necklace… and giving my heart to you fully.”
Her fingers unclipped the necklace, her hands steady even as her heart raced.
She reached for the small velvet box on the nightstand, placed the rings inside, and closed the lid. It clicked shut like a chapter finally finding its end.
The room was quiet, the only sound the thrum of both their heartbeats. Savior reached up and touched her face, thumb grazing the curve of her cheek. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. The way he kissed her said everything. This wasn’t just the end of a long day. It was the beginning of a love neither of them thought they’d live to feel again.
Savior was lost for words as he flipped her over, making her gasp with a breathy laugh. “No more fuck buddy?” he asked, voice low, teasing.
She laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck. “No. I cracked. That dick gon’ have me smiling in mugshots, Sav.”
He barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Unhinged… and I ain’t even changed the last name yet.”
She giggled beneath him, her skin warm, her heart full. Savior swept the gifts off the bed with one arm, because the only gift he cared to unwrap tonight was her. His lips found her neck, slow and reverent.
“I love you, Allure,” he murmured between kisses that made her breath hitch.
“I love you too, Savior,” she whispered, her voice soft, her moan softer.
He looked into her eyes. “As good as you look right now, I just want to lay naked with you.”
“Like… intimacy?” she asked, her voice quiet, almost unsure.
“Yes,” he said, his hand caressing her cheek. “Just for tonight. Because in the morning… I’m tearing this ass up.”
She burst into laughter, burying her face in his chest as he grinned.
“Did you enjoy your birthday?” she asked once her laughter faded, brushing her fingers across his jaw.
“It was the best birthday ever,” he said, no hesitation, just truth.
Her heart swelled at the sincerity in his eyes. “Even if you don’t always feel it… or people don’t say it enough, you are loved and appreciated.”
She leaned in and kissed him, deep and slow, sealing the words with something that went beyond language. Savior stripped out of his clothes until he was bare, and so did Ahzii, both sliding beneath the sheets until there was nothing between them but skin and breath, warmth and rhythm. They didn’t make love. Not tonight. They just existed—in each other’s arms, heart to heart, soul to soul—finally feeling and finally admitting the one thing they’d long believed was out of reach.
Love.
Chapter 15
E — Emerge
"From ashes, she rise. Not healed. Not whole. But Her.”
Savior stepped into the conference room at the warehouse, the tension hitting him before the door even closed. Sin, Olivia, Cain—and of course,Saint—were already seated.
“You’re late,” Saint barked the second he walked in.
Savior ignored him, moving to his seat with steady ease. “Let’s get this over with.”
He wasn’t letting his father ruin his mood. Not today. Not when he’d spent the last month living on cloud nine—thanks to Ahzii. Since his birthday, life had finally started to feelgood.
“You got somewhere better to be?” Saint prodded, eyes narrow.
Savior glanced at him and smirked. “More like someone better to bein.You married, Saint. You know how that feels, right?”
