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"Ah, esclave, this wasn’t supposed to happen" The evening he’d found me raped by Lefebvre
"There is pain in intimacy Let me make your pain my pleasure" The shohere he replaced himself with the horrible incident
"You’ll do this or I’ll kill you--do you understand?" The day he forced ht about his teht about his co wos that would be forever treasured
Speak from your heart
I wouldn’t bow to censorship I would share our unconventional history Q made me into the woman I was but I’d also turned him into the man he’d become Our past fore was faint, but I straightenedour life with proled to knohat I was meant for I followed a path I didn’t understand" I sed "I was lonely I never felt the pinprick of heartache, or the war But then I was captured and sold"
Q turned to stone, his fingers latching hard around ht I would die I wanted to die But then I was sold to a
"This new hthim He was the hole in er lonely, or searching for sorey world becaht"
My heart stuttered Nosold to Q, my trials hadn’t ended there
"But life decided I wasn’t worthy--not yet" I closed hosts of Rio "I endured a price I didn’t know I could pay, but once again I learned soht love--soul- once again I never had to be afraid or alone but in return I shut hi him worse than anyone" My heart cracked for how heartless I’d been "I shut ave so much but took away more in return But now I knohy I learned ht me an eternal love will demand the worst sacrifices A transcendent love will split your soul, cleaving you into pieces A love this strong doesn’t grant you sweetness--it grants you pain And in that pain is the greatest pleasure of all"
I met Q’s eyes His lips were pressed into a fine line, containing the s he felt, barely containing it The connection between us was thick and heavy and I wanted to be alone I wanted to kiss him Love him Worship him
"Q, I’m not just yours for this lifetih unhappiness, confusion, and hardship I will bask beside you in success, fortune, and laughter I will obey you because I trust you I will push you because I believe in you I will fight with you because that is where our passion lives And I will make love to you the way our demons demand
"My blood is yours
"My breath is yours
"And I swear to you when this life is over, I ait for you to join alaxies and solar-systeain Because a love like this isn’t replicable You’ve ruinedle tear rolled down rave; toi Je suis ton monstre dans le noir pour toujours" I’m yours I’m your monster in the dark forever
Silence was a heavy shroud, hushing even the tweets of birds outside
Q hadn’t moved His body locked down, face hard and dark
Perhaps I had no right to tell our story aloud Maybe he thought I’d failed by being so honest But I wanted Q to know that everything I lived through--every hardship was necessary--because it ht h to keep hi our souls into one Knitting our lives into inseparable tapestries I could never love another like hined us froness
Q cleared his throat The celebrant didn’tfor the thick silence to disperse
Say so with colossal energy, gloith everything he trapped inside "Tess--" Finally a crack, a ss "Je suis--"
Then he folded to his knees
My sto ofand fierce, be so shattered and humbled
Q’s ferocious eyes ensnared rave; quel point je tiens à toi Je n’aurais jamais les mots pour exprimer combien Je t’aime" Tess, I’ll never be able to express how much I care for you I’ll never know the words to say how hts His back rippled with a deep breath "Je ne savais pas que j’étais seul Je ne savais pas que j’étouffais ma douleur et mon besoin d’affection sous le travail Je hais rave; je viens et je ne ne du bonheur Mais ensuite, toi, esclave Cinquante-huit ans, est entrée dans mon monde Tu m’as fait tout remettre en question" I never kneas lonely I never knew I smothered my pain and the need for connection beneath e--where I’ve come from--and never felt worthy of happiness But then you, Slave Fifty-eight, entered
"Je voulais te briser T’adorer Te faire crier Je voulais tant de choses mais par-dessus tout, je voulais ce que j’ai vu dans tes yeux brillants pour moi, que tu me fasses confiance Je voulais ton âme" I wanted to break you Adore you Make you screas but beneath it all, I wanted what I saw in your eyes glowing forhi a sharp kiss to my knuckles "Tu rave;bres et le reste Mes pêchés et le reste Tu es al Mon professeur Je suis ton disciple Je suis ton propriétaire Je ne pourrais pas être plus a;urs au lieu d’un Ma vie est à toi Mon ârave; toi Je fais le voeu de toujours te consoler De toujours te protéger Je vais pleurer avec toi Je vais rire avec toi Je t’enlacerai tous les soirs de notre vie" You acceptYou are my equal My teacher I am your disciple I am your owner I couldn’t be more in love with you if I had two hearts instead of one My life is yours My soul is yours I vow to always comfort you Always protect you I will cry with you I will laugh with you I will hold you every night of our lives"