Chapter 156 The confession
Keal woke six hours later to find Sydney exactly where he'd left her. Sitting at his workbench, organizing his notes, her profile illuminated by afternoon sunlight streaming through the high windows.
She'd stayed. Just as she'd promised.
Something in his chest tightened. This woman. This incredible woman who'd walked into his life and refused to leave no matter how dangerous it became.
"You're awake." Sydney turned, her face brightening. "Good timing. Your blood samples are ready for analysis. I've labeled everything according to your notes."
Keal sat up slowly, his body protesting six hours of sleep on the narrow cot. But his mind felt clearer. Sharper. "You've been working the entire time."
"Someone had to." Sydney brought him water. "Drink this. Then we'll look at the results together."
Keal drank, his eyes never leaving her face. The way she moved through his laboratory like she belonged there. The way she anticipated his needs before he voiced them. The way she fit into his life so seamlessly it terrified him.
He set down the glass and stood. Crossed to where she waited by the workbench. Their bodies were close, barely a hand's width between them.
"Sydney." His voice was rough from sleep. "Do you know what you are to me?"
Her breath caught. "Keal—"
"No. Let me say this." He took her hand, his thumb tracing circles on her palm. "You're not just someone who brings me breakfast. You're not just a friend or an assistant or a convenient presence in my life."
"Then what am I?" Her voice trembled.
"Everything." The word came out reverent. "You're the reason I remember to eat. The reason I sleep. The reason I can face my research without drowning in it. You're laughter and light and kindness in a life that's been too dark for too long."
Sydney's eyes filled with tears. "I'm just a palace maid. I have no education, no position, no—"
"You're my mate." Keal's voice was absolute. "You're the woman the Moon Goddess chose for me. The one person in this world who makes everything make sense. Position doesn't matter. Education doesn't matter. All that matters is this."
He pressed her hand to his chest, over his racing heart. "This. What I feel when you're near. The way my world narrows to just you when you walk into a room. The way I can't imagine facing another day without you in it."
Tears spilled down Sydney's cheeks. "I feel it too. So much it scares me. This pull toward you. This certainty that I'm supposed to be here, with you, always."
"Then don't run from it." Keal's other hand cupped her face, his thumb brushing away her tears. "Don't run from me. Stay. Let me love you. Let me claim you properly."
"People will say I'm using you. That I'm climbing above my station. That a palace maid has no business with the King's Delta.."
"Let them say whatever they want." Keal's eyes blazed with intensity. "I don't care about gossip or propriety or outdated ideas about who belongs with whom. I care about you. Only you."
Sydney's hand came up to cover his on her face. "I love you. I'm terrified and overwhelmed and completely out of my depth, but I love you."
"I love you too." Keal leaned closer, his forehead pressing to hers. "More than research. More than revenge. More than anything I've ever wanted in my life. You're my priority now. My purpose. My everything."
Sydney rose on her toes, closing the final distance between them. Their lips met. Soft at first. Testing. Then deeper as weeks of restrained attraction finally broke free.
Keal's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Sydney's hands fisted in his shirt, holding him like he might disappear.
The kiss intensified. Months of careful distance. Months of stolen glances and accidental touches. All of it poured into this moment.
The bond between them flared. Not completed yet. Not claimed. But acknowledged. Real. Undeniable.
Keal walked her backward until her legs hit the workbench. He lifted her easily, setting her on the edge. His body pressed between her knees, his hands framing her face as he kissed her with desperate intensity.
"Sydney." Her name came out as a groan. "We should stop. This is moving too fast."
"I don't care." Sydney's legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. "I don't want to stop. Don't want to be careful. Want you. All of you."
Keal's control fractured. His hands moved from her face to her waist, sliding under the hem of her dress. Skin against skin. Heat and need and desperation.
Sydney gasped at the contact. Her hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, fingers shaking with urgency.
"Wait." Keal caught her hands, stilling them. His breathing was ragged. "Sydney, wait. We need to think about this."
"I have thought about it. For weeks. For months." Sydney's voice was fierce. "I want this. Want you. Want everything."
"But once we cross this line, there's no going back." Keal's forehead pressed to hers, his body trembling with restraint. "The bond will complete. You'll be mine completely. Forever. Are you certain?"
Sydney pulled back enough to meet his eyes. In them, she
saw love. Desire. And underneath, a desperate need for her to be sure.