Sweet Toxin

"My love." He repeated those words as if he was set on mocking the way her soul was unraveling before him. He thumbed away her tears with the gentleness of a prince, the lightness in his movements rivaled a feather.

"Have you come to despise your foolish husband?" He asked, voice stable, composure cool. She saw through him, however, saw the nervousness and hopefulness he was attempting to keep in.

"It would be right for me to hate you." She said, emboldened by her husband's unexpected gestures.

Luke looked absolutely dejected at her words, shrinking into himself like a mutt that'd been kicked by its owner.

Call her a sadist but it was hard not to show the pleasure she felt on her face. Finally, her husband was feeling what she'd been feeling since their anniversary night. He was distraught and it made them equals in that sense.

"I can not bring myself to do it, however. I adore you too much." Sophie clarified.

Love made even the wisest people fools.

As much as he'd hurt her, Sophie's husband was still her husband.

Luke, her charming Luke, was still the man who occupied most of the existing space in her mind and in her heart. He was her entire world.

And the way he beamed at her words of reassurance. His unrestrained glee put the sun to shame, eternally bright in their sullen room. How could she hate him? How could she ever hate him when his loveliness outweighed his flaws tenfold?

"You are too kind, my wife." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, careful not to move recklessly or he might worsen her injuries. "You are the one who is badly hurt and yet you are showing a neglectful bastard like me mercy."

The genuine smile on Sophie's face mirrored her husband's.

"I forgive you as long as you promise never to push me away again, Luke." She tore him away from her embrace, cupping his face with her scarred hands. He looked endearing in her hold, eyes shining with admiration.

"I promise. I will talk to you the next time something troubles me."

"Thank you, my husband." She placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. The way he easily flushed never failed to amuse her.

As her husband grew pink from an arguably simple gesture, Sophie could only be filled with fondness. The moment was perfect, he was perfect.

"I do not deserve you." He said with layers of brokenness too deep to easily brush off. Sophie wanted to ask what he meant because she was sure the comment held more than just harmless flattery.

It sounded like something had been eating him up for a while now, something that left him empty as a void, something Sophie herself was familiar with.

But before she could bring it up, his lips were on hers, burning, soft, sending electric waves through her every vein and artery.

Her heart thumped loudly against her chest and she grew embarrassed at the thought that Luke might be hearing her rapid heartbeat.

It was exhilarating but cozy all the same.

Kissing her husband was familiar in the way exploring the woods was familiar. She discovered a new sensation each time Luke's warm breath mingled with hers, but it felt like home all the same.

The way he was holding her face, the way he devoured her with fervor and simultaneously drowned her with affection, the way he gazed at her as if she opened the gates of heaven to him when he pulled away—it was everything she envisioned for her anniversary night.

But something felt off. Many things she desired to discuss were still undiscussed.

Sophie pushed her worries down, allowing them to live in the back of her mind. Ignorance was blissful at times and she deserved to be in bliss after everything.

"I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered back breathlessly, a centimeter away from kissing her once more. She wanted him to. She wanted to feel his desperation against her lips.

"I wish to do more to my wife, but I understand you might be too weak for that right now." He teased, grin playful but strained. She recognized the amount of self-control he was exerting and how much desire was hiding behind Luke's facade of a calm composure.

Sophie grew flustered at the implications, cheeks bright red. She cursed herself for making the impulsive decisions that led to her becoming injured and weak. Now Luke was acting as if his wife was a fragile maiden, shattered easily at the slightest touch.

As shy as it made her, she did want to reach the peaks of pleasure with her husband because it meant being vulnerable with him and holding each other close as if it killed them not to feel the other's skin.

Ah, that cursed hawk!

But in all honesty, she could not bring herself to sincerely regret anything. If not for her choice to search for her husband in the woods, the two of them wouldn't be reconciling the way they were at the moment.

The beast, in all its allure and its mystery, was a distant thought as Luke held his wife close, smiling dearly as he brushed her hair with his fingers.

Sophie felt herself falling in love with those forest greens all over again before sleep took over.