ততততত

𝐈 𝐌 𝐎 𝐆 𝐄 𝐍

Hard kisses leave bruised lips, and unspoken words that linger on the tips of our meshed tongues somehow become deciphered through a mystery of woven limbs. He holds me down, fingers scathing every plane of my body as our lips fight for dominance, for victory, for the end of our internal wars.

Time slows as he pulls away from a kiss, humid breaths passing between us as my drowsy eyes open to meet the brown hues of his own. His chafed clothes stick to his skin—his tanned, honey brown complexion. My fingers scrape through the wrinkles in his shirt, feeling the texture of his hard toned body beneath, and he closes his eyes.

"Mine," he breathes, almost inaudible. It's as if he never wanted me to hear the confession that dances the edge of his tongue—"mine"—although I do not belong to him.

Tobin is a moment, and I cling to him not ever wanting to part. As I raise my body from the mattress to meet his, I strengthen the cord that binds us, so tight that I never want our knot to undo. He isn't my yesterday, and the stars forbid him to be my tomorrow, but he is my today. My night. My now.

I weave a fist into his tunic, smirking against his kiss. "Off with this."

He bites down on my bottom lip, leaving it swollen as he backs away.

"As you wish, princess," he grins.

He stands on his knees, his body towering over mine as if I were his shadow. He hungrily licks his lips, tasting the remnants of my kiss, before setting his hands on the hem of his shirt. In one graceless movement, he pries it away to reveal sunkissed flesh. Exposed, he tosses the shirt off the bed.

In the moonlight, the contours of him detail every hard surface. Small scars etch his flesh, including one large one that spans across his pec down to his hip bone. Even then, there's inked runes on his heart like tattoos, an ancient script that even I cannot recognize. Nothing about Tobin is soft, nothing but that muscle that beats within his chest. Prominent blue veins frame him, tight and glorious—until my gaze catches the hem of his trousers.

I gulp at the sight of him. He's so worked up that his erection aims right towards me and threatens to break through his pants.

Our gazes meet, his eyes kinder than before, as he lowers himself against my body. I still dress in a thin underdress and undergarments, still enough clothes to let his imagination run wild. I part my legs around him, welcoming him into my personal space.

Before Tobin steals a lust-drunk kiss, I place my palm against the black ink over his heart. "What does this say?"

His brown eyes glance over to place where my touch connects with his skin. "Lost time is never found again." He opens his mouth to speak more, but refrains. Those six words mean something to him, something that I know he won't dare unravel.

My hand combs back messy cowlicks of chestnut hair. He leans towards me, yearning to connect to get his mind off the inked words I forced him to decipher. His lips brush up against mine, tender at first, then steals what any thief would: a kiss. His voice growls from his throat in such a low timbre that I clench my parted legs around his body.

His calloused palm brushes the inside of my thigh, pulling my leg apart wider than before. His fingertip trails wisps upward, his touch drawing vines towards a core that throbs in need of release.

The kiss ends as he takes a hold of my jaw, forcing my gaze to meet his eyes.

"How dare I kiss those lips that call me a 'petty thief'," he scoffs in a playful tone.

"Predictable petty thief," I clarify. I thread my fingers through the waves of his hair. "You should be killed for sneaking into the princess's bedroom."

"You've already stabbed me in the fucking heart," he removes his hand from my thigh, pressing his hips up against mine. The iron pressure of his erection (still tucked in his pants) pulses against my panties. "This is punishment enough."

The punishment: knowing that this will never last.

I swallow as he rocks his entire body against me, twining closer until we're flushed in unison. I dig a fist into the sheets, only to release it at the pleasure building in my core. Stone by stone he builds his own kingdom within me, longing to overthrow my heart and claim it as his own.

When our eyes find another, I push him backward. He hits the mattress, and I crawl above his glorious anatomy, refitting each other so I remain in control.

"I belong to no one," I whisper into his ear. He hums in response. "Not even a petty thief."

Tobin lifts his hips, rocking them up against mine. His kind brown eyes roll back as he releases a beautiful moan, then the brightest satisfied smile.

"Gods, that fire..."

I kiss his throat, then collar, then that deep scar etched into his flesh. I bite skin and the curve of his ear, easing the marks with the drawl of my tongue, anything to solicit him closer. He likes the pain mixed with pleasure, so I'm learning, like a feral beast in the wild. It hurts me to know that when morning comes, Tobin's intimacy will be nothing but a memory. A memory that I will store inside me forever. Tobin stole so much from me already—milestones any girl longs to have with her lover. My touch. My first kiss. My heart caged of stone and fire.

I pause. None of this was supposed to happen like this.

My eyes rim with tears. The prince I dreamed of marrying isn't supposed to be a thief. My husband isn't supposed to be a monster with a soul as black as charcoal.

Tobin combs a hand through my hair, lifting my eyes to meet his. Our movements stop.

"Princess?"

"I can't," the words slip from me. Tobin begins to back away, but I pull myself closer. "I can't marry him."

His brows furrow, his mind still lost in bliss. But when those kind brown irises widen, he tethers me against his heartbeat and rolls me over. He holds me in his embrace—a simple comforting hug as I sob into his bare chest.

"I can't save you," his lips mutter against my hair. "I can't even save myself."

"I'm not asking you to save me. I just need you to know this."

He nods his head, the muscles in his arms strengthening his hold around me.

"The marriage will end the war between Lagulon and Adorid," I begin. "Nothing else seems to appease Leighton until he proposed the betrothal. My father declined at first, but when so many of our resources were wasted away, he caved in."

"And you didn't have a choice?" he says, his voice almost offended.

"What else can I do? We're outnumbered on foot. Our army is weak compared to his, and we've lost so many knights. I had to say yes—to save them."

He remains silent, pondering over my words. I watch as he fondles a blonde wave of my hair, twirling it aimlessly around his calloused finger. His once slow calculated breaths accelerate, until he's rolling me onto my back with him above me.

He brushes his thumb against my lip, then forces my tear-swelled irises to meet his.

"I am a weapon, and I will destroy Leighton," he growls. There's a light in his eyes, a wild tempting light. "Say it."

I swallow. "I am a weapon, and... and I will destroy Leighton."

But do I believe the words? The feast only brought me to my knees in hopelessness. In four months, I'm afraid everything that I am will disappear. Everything.

"Don't you dare submit to him—gods, you don't submit to no one. Not even me. This kingdom belongs to you, and so does Adorid."

"Tobin, you don't have to—"

"I fucking mean it," the gold in his eyes twinkle. "Adorid suffers under his reign, and the people beg for an end."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know," he gives a quick smile. "I've been everywhere, princess."

I know I can be a little foolish and naive at times, as well as reckless, but a part of me doubts it's enough to beat Leighton at his cruel games. He controls every nook and cranny of Adorid. Even if I became part of the picture as his wife, he'll have the advantage. I'll have no idea what resources to look for, or who I can trust. After the wedding, I'll be alone in a world that refuses to let me in.

I lace my hand between Tobin's, then bring the entwined palms to my lips. I kiss his knuckles. "I didn't mean what I said earlier."

"You said a lot of things earlier."

"I told you to never come back, but I do," there's a beg to my voice. "There's four months until the wedding, and I don't think I can prepare for it alone."

He drops silent at the request, a painful aching silence.

"I trust you, Tobin," I close my eyes. I've already given him my trust, but I beg for him not to misuse it. He knows too much, seen too much. Gods, this man knows me better than my own father. "You infuriate me sometimes, and you're so goddamn stupid, but... don't leave me to do this alone."

His chest sinks as he releases a deep breath. "Princess," he kisses my lips with a peck. "You understand this won't end well."

"I know," because in four months, he'll be here and I'll be in Adorid. Apart. Separated. "But we can pretend that it will when the sun goes down."

He swallows. How can we embark on something destined to crumble? With one look at Tobin, I know that these nights have built up more than just a friendship. Hell, actions speak louder than words between us. We're a mess. A chaotic ugly mess. A shipwreck of untold emotions. But I want this. Need this.

Tobin's lips press up against mine, hunger lacing each kiss. "Fuck it. I'll come back."

Because in the daylight, I will wither and fall to my knees. All I need is for my thief to be my remedy, my cure, when nightfall comes again.

── •✧• ──

Tobigen is in FULL FORCE and I LOVE IT. I am so happy to be at this part of their relationship, because from now on things between the two get tough. Emotions heighten, and drama enters the chat. 

Also, if you haven't noticed, Only After Nightfall got a brand new cover! I made a new cover, simply, because I wanted to. Check it out if you haven't yet!

Make sure you comment (very much appreciated if you do/did), vote (again, very much appreciated), and share!