Her second climax crests slow and sweet, like a wave that doesn’t crash so much as surrender. I follow a moment later, a guttural groan against her neck as I spill everything I am into her.
We stay tangled. Skin to skin. Heartbeat to heartbeat.
And when I finally ease out of her, I don’t let go. I tuck her against my chest, arms wrapped around her back as she presses her face into my collarbone.
Time stretches out, quiet and thick and heavy with meaning.
When her breathing steadies, I speak.
“They’ve locked it,” I say, voice rough. “Every angle. Every loophole.”
She doesn’t lift her head, but I feel the tension coil in her shoulders.
“Legal recourse is gone,” I continue. “CY8’s boards have ratified the takeover. Tidball owns the company.”
She’s silent.
Still.
“I tried to find a cleaner way,” I admit, fingers threading slowly through her hair. “I thought if I brought you evidence, we could build a case, dismantle him from the inside. But it’s too late. He’s insulated himself.”
Her voice is small. “So what are you going to do?”
I swallow hard.
The air shifts between us.
“I’m going to make him give it back.”
Yara finally lifts her head, eyes searching mine. Not afraid. Not surprised. Just… quiet.
“You’re not asking,” she says.
“No.”
She nods once. Looks down at my chest. I can feel her mind working, calculating the weight of the consequences. The cost.
“I should stop you,” she says softly.
“Yeah. You should.”
“But I won’t.”
I tilt her chin up with two fingers. “Why?”
Her lips part. Then, “Because you’re the only one who ever fought for me. Not just beside me. For me.”
I press my forehead to hers.
“And I always will.”
This is it.
This is the moment I know.
She’s not just my mate.
She’s mine.