“Adrian,” I whispered. His words broke me in a way I hadn’t been before. It had not been he who had taken away the future I had once dreamed of. It had been men. It had been Dragos.

I took his face into my hands, gaze falling to his lips as I spoke. “You are what I want.”

He took my mouth in a searing kiss and gripped my hips, and though it was cold, it seemed important that we come together here within this place that had stolen so much from us. I did not protest as Adrian lifted my heavy skirts, seeking the heat between my thighs.

His fingers were cold at first but soon warmed, and as he moved inside me, his mouth devoured mine, trailing along my jaw and neck and over my breasts. There came a point when I could no longer stand, and I dragged him to the snowy ground with me, laughing as he hovered over me, the snow freezing my back.

Adrian did not leave me like that for long. He sat back on his cloak and dragged me onto my knees, his hands digging into my ass as he pulled me flush against his arousal. My breath caught in my throat, but Adrian gave me no time to exhale before he kissed me, devouring my mouth, while his hands moved between us. I shifted, rising until the crown of his cock was positioned within my heat. As I slid down upon him, a shuddering moan escaped my lips.

He wrapped his arms around me tight and helped me move.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, yes.”

I spoke frantic pleas as I inhaled and exhaled, uncaring that I could barely catch my breath, only chasing this dizzy and euphoric feeling. When I was too tired to move, Adrian leaned back, his hands sinking into the snow as he thrust inside me. At first I remained close, hands pressed against his chest, holding still as he moved, but then I pushed away from him so I could watch his face—his hard expression, his determined stare which only seemed to ignite me more.

I let my head fall back as release roared through me, and before I could come down, Adrian’s hands tangled into my hair and he kissed me hard as he came, his cock pulsing inside of me.

For a few moments, I stayed clenched around him, and in what remained of that breathless warmth, I asked for an oath.

“Anything for you,” he said.

“Promise me the world,” I said, breathing hard.

“It is yours,” he said.

***

We gathered lavender. It lay crushed beneath a layer of snow, but Adrian knew where to look, so familiar with the woods.