♫ Nothing Without You - The Weeknd ♫
Three months later…
Lux and I stand on top of the Panorama, her back to my front as Miami zooms below us.
The night is especially humid, but a cool breeze rolls by every few minutes, offering brief moments of relief.
Inhaling deeply, I tighten my arms around her shoulders and bury my face in the crook of her neck, nuzzling the delicate curve. Her pulse beats steady beneath my lips.
“You sure you wanna do this?” I ask.
She nods simply and grips my forearms, offering a little squeeze of reassurance. “I do.”
Those two little words do something to me. They shouldn’t, because I shouldn’t even be entertaining such thoughts, but nevertheless, they do.
Insanely so.
My heart races at the visual, a visual I’d never imagined myself envisioning. A visual I’d never imagined I’d want to envision.
But I shouldn’t be surprised.
I want everything with Lux, everything and anything the future has in store. The good times, the bad times.
Everything.
Tamping down the sense of urgency thrumming through my veins, I squeeze her tighter and nod myself. “We need to get going then. Don’t want to be—”
“I know,” she interjects, her voice wavering slightly. “Just five more minutes, though.”
I don’t miss the way she sighs or how her body rattles with the tiniest shiver. “What’s wrong, baby? Talk to me.”
Lux shrugs, burrowing herself deeper in my hold. “I’m just going to miss the girls, that’s all.”
“They promised to come visit twice a year one we settle down somewhere,” I say, hoping the remainder will somewhat soothe the ache of leaving them behind.
“I know, but twice a year is nothing. I’m going to miss out on so much, especially with Suki being—”
“Look at me.” I spin her around with a quickness, halting the words on her tongue. Cupping her face, I lay my forehead to hers, my gaze m boring into blue pools. “We don’t have to go.”
“We don’t, no,” she agrees, clasping my wrists. “But I want to be with you, and I know this is something you’ve wanted for a long time.”
“What I want is you,” I counter, drawing a genuine smile on her plump lips.
“You have me already. You’ll always have me, for as long as you want me.”
Forever wouldn’t be long, but I don’t dare say that aloud. Not now.
“Do you trust me?” I ask instead, backing her into the ledge like I’ve done so many times before.
“Yes.”
“Do you love me?”
She nods, wrapping her arms around my neck. “With every fiber of my being.”
“Then let’s go. Let’s get away from it all. See the world. Live. We can come back to Miami when it’s all said and done if that’s what you want. I’d live under a bridge as long as you’re by my side.”
My girl laughs, drawing me closer with a leg at my waist. “And to think you wanted me dead just a few months ago.”
“I never wanted you dead, baby,” I chuckle, “I just wanted what you had, but I learned real quick it meant fuck all if you weren’t part of the package.”
The briefest silence falls between us.
Time stands still as she gazes at me, boring into me with such emotion I feel it in the deepest, darkest parts of me.
“I love you, Roman,” she declares after a beat.
The words hit me, harder than ever, puffing up my chest. “Say it again,” I demand.
Lips brushing against my own, she takes ahold of my face and holds my stare. “I. Love. You,” she enunciates.
Again they hit me. The course through me with such speed, my cock twitches beneath my jeans.
“Mmm—I’m one fucking lucky bastard.”
“You are, now tell me you love me goddammit,” she growls playfully, her claws raking along my jaw, luring me impossibly closer.
The heat between her legs nearly does me in.
I want to devour her right there, take her on this rooftop as our farewell to Miami, but voicing how much I fucking love her, how much I want her until the end of time, is far more paramount than my insatiable appetite.
Threading my fingers in her hair, I hold her steady, firmly. “Lux—my vicious little kitty kat—Mercier, I. Love. You, and one day, whether it be near or far, I hope you’ll do me the honor of being a King.”
Her eyes widen, but she recovers quickly, clamping her teeth down on her bottom lip as a flush colors her cheeks. “Every Queen takes her King’s surname.”
Kiss.
“I’m holding you to it.”
Kiss.
“You can count on it.” She smiles devilishly. “Now, let’s go—adventures await us, my King.”
And they lived happily—and darkly—ever after.
THE END