VICIOUS DEVOTION

CHAPTER TEN : The Night

Serafina's Chambers – 11:00 PM

The candles flickered.

Serafina stood at the window, her back to him, her heart pounding. The room was warm, golden, intimate. She had never felt more exposed.

Behind her, she heard him move. Slow steps. Deliberate. Predatory.

"Are you nervous?" His voice was low, teasing.

"No." A lie.

He reached her, his hands settling on her shoulders. She shivered.

"You're shaking," he murmured.

"I'm cold."

"It's August."

She turned, meeting his eyes. He was so close. So impossibly, devastatingly close.

"I'm not cold," she whispered. "I'm terrified."

His expression softened. "Of me?"

"Of this. Of what I feel for you." She swallowed. "I've never—"

"I know." He touched her cheek. "Neither have I."

She blinked. "What?"

"I've never loved anyone before you, Serafina. I've used women. I've manipulated them. I've never cared." His eyes burned. "But you—you're different. You're everything. And I don't know how to do this without messing it up."

She laughed—a broken, breathless sound. "We're both disasters."

"Perfect disasters." He kissed her forehead. "We'll figure it out together."

She looked up at him. This boy—this man—who had killed for her, bled for her, burned the world for her. He was dangerous. He was reckless. He was utterly, completely, devastatingly hers.

"Show me," she whispered.

He didn't need to ask what she meant.

---

The world fell away.

His hands were careful at first—tentative, almost reverent. He undressed her slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. When she stood before him, vulnerable and bare, he stepped back.

"You're beautiful," he said, his voice rough. "More beautiful than I imagined."

"You imagined?" She arched an eyebrow.

"For two years." He smiled. "Every night."

"You're obsessed."

"Completely."

She pulled him closer. "Show me."

He did.

---

Later, they lay tangled in the sheets.

The candles had burned low. The room was dark, warm, quiet. Serafina's head rested on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

"I love you," she whispered.

His arm tightened around her. "I know."

She laughed, swatting him. "Cocky."

"Truthful." He kissed the top of her head. "I've known since the moment you knelt in the gravel for me."

"I knew you were trouble."

"And yet, here you are." He tilted her chin up, meeting her eyes. "In my arms. In my bed. In my heart."

She smiled. "Where else would I be?"

He kissed her again. Soft. Reverent. Like she was something precious.

"I'm going to marry you," he said.

She blinked. "What?"

"Someday. When this is all over." He stroked her cheek. "I'm going to marry you, Serafina. And we're going to rule this kingdom together. And we're going to be happy."

She stared at him. "You're serious."

"Always." He kissed her nose. "I don't love gently, Angel. I love viciously. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving it."

She smiled, tears pricking her eyes. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." She kissed him. "But you have to ask me properly. With a ring. And maybe a grand gesture."

He laughed. "I'll give you the world, Serafina. Just you wait."

She believed him.