Page 116 of Roped
His chest shudders with a large breath. “And to myself.”
“With hemp?”
“With hemp.”
My mouth trembles and every inch of my body feels alive in this moment. “If I let you do that, if I let you take me away and tie me to you, what would I get in return?”
His eyes roam my features as if he’s memorizing this moment. As if this is the moment his life is going to change, and he wants to remember it for eternity. The moment he binds us together, not with a rope but with words that again sound like vows.
“My air,” he says, inching closer.
And I bite my lip.
“My blood,” he goes on as he rests his forehead against mine. “My body, my heart. My soul.” I smile, tears shining anew in my eyes as he continues, “But first, I’ll do somethin’ else.”
I frown. “Like what?”
“Pay my dues.”
“I don’t—”
“For breakin’ your heart that night.”
My eyes go wide and I shake my head. “You don’t—”
Cutting me off, he says, “I did that, didn’t I? Broke your heart when I walked out.”
My chest tightens, and reluctantly, I nod.
His jaw clenches as he rubs his thumbs over my skin, the sides of my lips, muttering, “My sweet Princess. I was an asshole, wasn’t I? Such a dumb fuckin’ asshole. Instead of fallin’ down on my knees and crackin’ my chest open to offer her my heart, I left her alone. I walked out instead of walkin’ over and takin’ her in my arms, tellin’ her I felt the same way.”
“I was mad at you,” I admit.
“I know, darlin’,” he says, nodding, rolling his forehead over mine. “And that’s why the very first thing I need to do is to pay my dues. Get down on my knees, worship you like the princess you are. Until you realize that’s where you have me, now and always. At your feet.”
I shake with emotion, clench my eyes shut for a second before whispering, “You forgot one thing.”
“What?”
“Your ring on my finger.”
He goes still, his chest pausing mid-breath and his features freezing.
I’m not deterred, though as I say, “The girl of your dreams. She gets that, doesn’t she?” I don’t expect him to answer, and he doesn’t because he’s still busy being frozen when I continue, “So, first you’ll apologize and I’ll forgive you. In my own time of course. And then, you’ll take me out on a date.” At this, his breath hitches, but still I keep going as I wrap my arms around his neck, “To a nice restaurant. You’ve always watched me go out with other men, haven’t you? Looking in from the outside, so now you’ll be there at the table. With me. We’ll eat good food; you’ll share your wine with me, even though I’m not allowed to legally drink yet. And then, you’ll get down on one knee and ask me to be your wife. In front of the whole wide world. And I’ll say yes because that’s all I ever wanted. To be yours. To be that girl for you, to be with a man who makes me feel alive and safe. Who gives my heart wings. And I’m scared that it’ll all go away one day because of my dad, but I’m not going to let that stop me from being with you. Nothing can stop me from being your princess.”
“I love you,” he says, or more like blurts out because he couldn’t keep it inside.
I know the feeling because I reply in much the same way, “I love you too.”
And then, my Phantom kisses me, and I kiss him back because I’m his Princess and we’re fate.
EPILOGUE
Eight months later
I’M TIED UP.
My hands are above my head, stretched out and bound together with a rope to the ceiling and I’m standing on my tiptoes. Even though I know it’s not going to make any difference, I still twist my wrists in my bonds. I still wrap my fingers around the rope and pull at it, as if I’m expecting it to break free. Every few seconds, I also try to find better balance, better purchase on the floor, but when I say I’m standing on my tiptoes, I mean on my very tippy-toes. As in, my toes graze the concrete floor but don’t hold.
