Kaz woke up in his bed with Inej in his arms. They both still had their clothes on. It had been like this for a while now, ever since he asked her to.
There were times when he got her close before. He would never forget when he carried her after they were attacked by Ooman at Fifth Harbor on Pekka's order…he didn't think he could hate that Kaelish scourge any more before that night he almost lost her, he could have killed Ooman all over again for almost taking her from him…but he took care of him. There were other stolen moments, near misses and false starts before and since that night. There was time when he dressed her injuries and she told him how her mind goes back to the Menagerie, it made him feel that she could understand his sickness, he almost kissed her shoulder that time, before the pain took hold of him. He'd held her hand and let her straighten his tie before meeting her family. That night he told her he wanted her to stay in Ketterdam with him.
You say you'll only have me without my armor. Then, stay. Stay and help me learn how to do without it.
That night he had told her how much he wanted to let her in, how much he wanted to tell her everything…and how much he wanted to hold her. They stayed up all night planning and negotiating, in the end Inej both agreed to her spending three months at sea and two in Ketterdam and when she was there, she'd stay with Kaz, and Kaz would help her hunt the slavers and buyers in Kerch and he'd be what Inej needed him to be for her.
Kaz had gotten used to holding her hands without his gloves, that alone took more than he thought he had in him but quickly became easy. Soon after that, he would let Inej touch his face and he would touch hers in return, he eased into that with more calm than the gloves, but telling her all about Jordie and Pekka was the hardest for him.
Inej told Kaz about her life with her family before she was taken and what he didn't know about her indenture at the Menagerie, she couldn't hide the shame in her voice. When he told her how he couldn't stand that someone like Tante Heleen could make her believe that she was less than the extraordinary woman she was, she actually blushed.
At first Kaz would sleep on the settee and gave Inej the bed. She would leave her knives on the bedside table. His breath caught every time Inej took off her quilted vest and Fabrikator-made shoes before she got into bed, without the vest he could see the gentle slopes of her waist, the curve of her hips, no painter's or sculptor's prowess could match this woman.
One night Inej insisted that Kaz join her in his bed. At first, he remained fully clothed, even his jacket and boots on, with his cane between them, only holding her hand uncovered. After some time, he didn't need the cane to separate them, little by little letting her nearer. Eventually he would remove his boots and his jacket, then his waistcoat, finally unbuttoning the top of his shirt, to allow himself to be comfortable around her.
One night Inej let down her hair and took her embroidered shirt off leaving only her undershirt. Kaz couldn't take his eyes off of her…this beautiful, brave woman who, for reasons he couldn't understand, chose to be with him. Kaz practically winced at the scars from Mogens and Dunyasha, he could have killed both of them all over again…but she'd seen to that on both accounts. He stood behind her, breath trembling as the pads of his fingers touched the raised and shiny flesh, goosebumps all over her arms. He heard a hitch in Inej's breath, as he looked down to her shoulder.
Here we are again.
Kaz took in the familiar territory, the last time he attempted to be with her here was over a year ago, he could barely touch his lips to her skin without going back…he dared himself to try again. He barely brushed the back of her ear with his lips, traveling behind her ear and down her neck, barely touching her skin but inching ever closer each time. When he reached the base of her neck he stopped. It was then that he finally learned her scent; rosewater, salt, steel and whetstone with a womanly scent that he couldn't place but made his head swim.
"Go on, Kaz." Inej breathed. Her voice wasn't like last time, that time she was daring him, this time she was almost begging him.
Kaz slid his arms around her waist as he held his breath and steeled himself. He leaned in closer and let his lips connect…just the warm feeling of her skin permeated every corner of his being. He moved across her shoulder back to her neck, this time his lips did not just touch…he placed a soft kiss on her bronze skin. He lingered with his lips grazing her skin, his burning for her only heightened as she moaned breathily…and then before he even realized what was happening, his mind began drowning in the harbor. He took a step back biting his lip with a groan of frustration.
"Are you alright?"
"Just give me a minute." Kaz stood with his back to against the nightstand, visibly shaken.
"It's alright. Just as long as you come to bed when you're ready."
That night Kaz held Inej in his arms, she had just nestled herself under the crook of his elbow, she asked after if he was alright…to his amazement, he wasn't stricken by panic, just a peaceful feeling of calm from having her close. As he heard her breath even out as she fell asleep, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, pausing to make sure he didn't go anywhere.
Inej loved the way he'd run his fingers through her hair when he talked to her. It took weeks for him to tell her almost everything. The night he confided in her about how Kaz Rietveld died, it wasn't lost on her just how much it took for him to let her get this close, how much it must have scared him that she knew this much about him.
Last night, Kaz held Inej in his arms as they slept…until he had that dream again. He was dead on the barge in the harbor with Jordie, but this time he looked down and Inej was beside him…dead eyes looking up at him, he came to with such a start he woke her. Kaz was panicked, he couldn't breathe. He ran to the wash basin, feverishly splashing water on his face and scrubbing his hands, trying to clean the feel of death off of himself, not noticing Inej walking up beside him.
"Kaz, look at me." She turned his head to face her, stroking his cheek with her palm. He was breathing hard and trembling. "Look at me. Just breathe, Kaz. Just breathe." Inej's voice was soft like she was talking to a wounded predator.
Kaz held her wrist, as he took a deep breath. To both of their surprise, Kaz found himself leaning into her touch to kiss her palm.
"It was painful for me too at first." She spoke calmly. "Touch. After something so fundamental, so essential has been corrupted it's an uphill climb in the rain trying to piece that part of you back together. And even if you do, it will always be cracked and frayed…damaged. When you sometimes fall into them, you have to be the one to pull yourself out on your own terms."
"I need to tell you something." Kaz's voice was uncharacteristically small, "I'm afraid. Of you. Of how you make me feel."
"'Make you feel'?" She hoped,
"I feel…I feel…" He struggled to find the words, "I can only feel. I can't think when it comes to you. Everything else in my life I can approach with calculated thought, equations of risk vs reward. But with you all I can think of is how it will affect you, how you will take it. It's dangerous for both of us! I've only been able to protect myself and the Crows by keeping all of you at arm's length. But, Inej, you are the air to me, you make me think that maybe I might be able to be more than Dirtyhands, the Bastard of the Barrel. With you I have…hope! Dangerous hope. And that, Inej… that scares me more than anything else."
"Hope isn't always an evil, Kaz, sometimes it's a weapon, a reason to fight. And it's my life to risk." Inej let out a small startled gasp when he stepped back.
"It's a vulnerability!" He was almost angry, as if he was furious at himself for allowing this to happen, "You saw what happened to Geels with Elise, Wylan's father with Alys, Pekka with his son! All of them brought down by letting someone else be important to them. I'm not the only one capable of learning other people's secrets, if I can learn them then so can someone else, all it takes is one slip up, one oversight, one wrong move…Van Eck saw…anyone else could too. Just because I don't have to do every monstrous thing doesn't mean someone else won't."
She tried to console him, "No one is going to…"
"I cannot lose you, Inej!" Kaz walked up to Inej, holding her face, desperate at the thought, "I can't! I could survive having my heart cut out more easily than I could if something happened to you. It's not just that you know everything about how the Crows and the Dregs operate, all of our legitimate and off-books operations, you know everything about me, there is no secret that I have not told you. You don't need to tell anyone anything, just knowing someone got to you would be enough to end me. Inej, in every way imaginable, you are my only weakness." the fear was coming off of him in waves, "And still the idea of not being with you…Inej, if you left and never came back, I—I don't know how to live with that kind of emptiness again…it would drown me. And that, Inej, terrifies me more than anything else ever could." Kaz cursed the rogue tear he felt running down, he looked away, he'd been weak enough in front of Inej without this.
Inej pulled Kaz's gaze to her eyes…she saw the tears in his eyes as he bared his soul. He kept his eyes downcast, "I understand that—all of it. But, Kaz, I have seen you fight for your Crows and the Dregs…fight for the people you care about…and as vulnerable as you think it makes you, it also makes you that much stronger. Your heart not being stone isn't a weakness, Kaz, it's your power, your strength, not something to be ashamed of." Kaz finally looked up at her, "My life to risk, my choice to make, Kaz Brekker, not yours." She said softly. She raised up on her toes to his ear and whispered words that sent lightning to Kaz's foundation, "And I choose to risk it to be with you." She kissed him on the corner of his mouth.
Kaz was still in such shock over what she had said, the kiss had startled him. She started to apologize, but before she could get a word out, he cradled her face and kissed her like he would die if he didn't. He let her ravish his mouth as he lowered his hands to her hips and pulled her closer as she wrapped her arms around him to kiss him back. He slowly pulled away from her, her teeth gently tugging his lip.
"Was that so terrible?" Inej whispered against Kaz's lips.
"The only terrible thing you could do right now is leave."
"Then ask me nicely to stay."
With twin mischievous grins against each other's lips, Kaz spoke with an unexpected tone of wicked humor, "Please, my darling Inej, treasure of my heart, please stay with me tonight." They both laughed as Inej kissed him again, this time Kaz moved down to her neck and her shoulders. He realized that the usual pain and panic that he got from touch completely absent. He only could have done this with Inej. No one else could have even come close, he wasn't even willing to try. But, with Inej, he didn't just want to try…he needed to succeed.
Inej nimbly unbuttoned his shirt and slid her hands around Kaz's waist. He was all taut muscle and scars, his skin was warm and damp from his earlier nightmare. During her time at the Menagerie, she'd seen all sorts of men, old, young, ugly, handsome, and everything in between, but this was different, it wasn't some client she had to endure and disappear from, it was Kaz, there wasn't anything they hadn't done or wouldn't do for one another. She'd seen him without his shirt before but this was different, he wasn't just undressing to clean up, here, he was vulnerable, exposed, it was like petting a wild animal who only let Inej get close without lashing out.
The touch of her hands made Kaz burn for her, it was bliss, he wanted more until he felt himself going back to the harbor, water and death rushing around him, he had to take a step back. "Wait!" He practically jumped back and held Inej away as he snapped back to the barge, buried under cold, stiff corpses, Jordie's bloated body keeping him afloat. He came to with a dejected groan, "I'm sorry. I just can't —I can't—I just—I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Inej let out a soft groan, they'd already come so far. She could feel Kaz's frustration coming off of his body…he was trying. And he'd apologized more times tonight than almost the entire time she's known him. Most of the armor was off, but a few pieces remained. She gave him his space. "It's alright. Do you still want me to stay?" She whispered anxiously,
"Yes." He nodded, "I just need a minute."
"Then let's go back to bed when you're ready and we'll try not to have any more bad dreams." Inej whispered before planting a small kiss on Kaz's lips.
Kaz caught his breath and fastened all but the top two buttons of his shirt before getting back in bed. Inej slid next to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms back around Inej, kissed the top of her head, drifting away with her again.
This morning Kaz woke up slowly before daybreak to the sound of heavy rain on the roof. Inej slept soundly with her head still rested on his chest and her hand over his heart. He slipped his thumb under her palm on his chest and covered her hand with his palm as he stroked her long silken hair with his other hand, fingers disappearing in the thick, black strands as he listened to the rain.
Inej stirred in Kaz's arms as he kissed the top of her head. She looked up, he looked down, meeting one another's gaze.
"Is it late?" Inej asked,
"No. It's not yet dawn."
"I leave in three days. I want us to be together before I do."
Kaz looked her in the eye, astonished by her candor.
"As Sankta Alina says, 'No chance left untaken'."
"I do believe that was the closest you have come to blasphemy."
"I was being serious." She scowled,
"As was I."
Inej sat up to get out.
"Wait!" Kaz reached out and softly grabbed her wrist, "I love you, Inej."
After a few moments of being frozen in place, it dawned on her, that he grabbed her arm without his gloves. He grabbed her. After a moment of careful thought she realized that every time he had touched her without his gloves, he would wait for her to touch or say first, he needed her enough to let her touch him, and that was enough for her. But this time he grabbed her… reached for her, Kaz had deliberately touched her…because he wanted her enough to touch her first. That, along with everything he'd done for her, would have been enough to show her how much he loved her…then he said it…he told her that he loved her.
"I love you so much it scares me more than anything else ever has or could. But I'd rather be afraid of that than too scared to be with you."
Inej turned around and leaned in close to whisper something in Suli Kaz didn't understand against his lips, as she straddled his hips, following him as she lay him back down into a smoldering kiss…a kiss he fully returned with a soft moan.
He ran his hands up her thighs, her backside and under her shirt.
She pulled away, Kaz sat up to follow her lips. "No. You first." Inej whispered.
Kaz countered by pulling her face to his for a fiery kiss. Inej pulled away again as he unbuttoned his shirt painfully slow, never looking away. He slid out of his black, collared shirt and threw it off to the side.
Inej leaned down to kiss him again, she ran her hand down his bare chest, outlining each scar with her fingers…there were so many, bullet wounds, knife cuts, bites, scrapes, some that she didn't know how he survived its injury.
Saints! How many scars has he been hiding.
Inej kissed a particularly angry one on his shoulder, she heard Kaz's breath catch. She ran her hand over the letter on his arm. "It's for Rietveld isn't it?" She asked.
Rietveld. That name haunted Kaz like Jordie's ghost. He froze and couldn't breathe, he pulled away from Inej. He was back on the Reaper's Barge again, gasping and shaking as he tried to make it stop. He heard her voice call his name, but he still couldn't breathe,
"Where do you go?"
Kaz was confused,
"When the panic sets in and you aren't here, where does your mind go?"
Kaz couldn't answer, the words lodged themselves in his throat.
"The times when I find myself back at the Menagerie, I open my eyes and look for something, anything to remind me that I'm not there."
She felt his arms around her, pulling her tight. "Like what?"
"Usually I count my knives. I couldn't have had those there…but lately it's been you. I hold your hand when I'm with you, because you're the reason I'm not there."
Kaz peered up at Inej with a look of utter shock. Of everyone and everything in the world, Kaz was Inej's safe harbor, when she needs a lifeline, she reaches for him…it left him breathless. He swore to himself that her reach would always find purchase when she sought him out.
"Where do you go, Kaz?" She repeated.
Kaz debated denying it but thought better of it. Aside from the fact that she knew everything else, he never wanted to lie to her again. "The night I…" His voice cracked.
"In the harbor?"
He nodded unable to meet her gaze.
"Every time?"
"Yes." Kaz sounded ashamed, still looking away.
"You never have to hide from me, Kaz." Inej kissed him gently before she pulled her undershirt over her head. Her thin, lithe, beautiful body was as covered in scars as his was…some he knew about, others he'd never seen before.
Kaz looked up at Inej before laying her down, he slid down to kiss the jagged one by her hip from a fight with an Inferni on the job in East Ravka, Inej's breath caught as he pressed his lips to each scar like they were holy relics, precious and vulnerable. Kaz moved up to her small, pert breasts, skin the color of toasted cinnamon, caressing the chocolate-colored peaks with his lips. How many times should he have been there to protect her? He continued his pilgrimage of each scar, Inej flipped over on her on her back for him to anoint her with more kisses. Both of her arms, her shoulders, when he reached the small of her back, he waited for her.
"No reason to stop now." Inej flipped back onto her back, gifting Kaz with a perfect view of her breasts with a wonton smirk,
Kaz unfastened her taut pants, kissing her just below her navel before pulling it under her backside and down each of her long, lithe legs, kissing each scar along the way. He could feel Inej trembling under his hands. He didn't hide the fact that he was nervous, he almost bit Inej's lip when he kissed her.
"It's your turn now." Inej whispered,
Kaz's breath caught in his throat as he steeled himself. He got out of the bed, stood by the edge and unfastened his perfectly tailored trousers.
The glorious planes of lean muscle that made up his body were not lost on Inej, when Kaz's pants dropped to the floor it was her turn for her breath to catch…Kaz really was beautiful. He had an angry scar on his leg from where he broke it, she'd never asked but it was clear that the broken bone had gone through all those years ago. She looked up at him and she could see he was terrified.
Inej got out of the bed and stood in front of Kaz. They were completely exposed and it scared them both. She took his hand in hers and brought it up to her face to kiss his palm, she could see him savoring her touch, he slowly, pulled her close and kissed her softly, reaching around her for an embrace.
"Will you have me now, Inej Ghafa?"
"Yes. I will have you, Kaz Brekker."
Kaz shut his eyes at the sound of her words. He couldn't believe, even now, that Inej would really be with him. He held her tight, almost afraid to let her go.
Inej led Kaz back to the bed. They lay side by side, staring into each other's eyes, she guessed that he was feeling a little too exposed so she covered him with the bedclothes, he thanked her with a kiss. Inej rolled Kaz on top of her, reaching between them to find him, Kaz gasped as she wrapped her nimble, calloused fingers around him, "Do you want me to stop?" She whispered.
"Only if you want to." Kaz spoke breathlessly, silently hoping she wouldn't say to stop. He kissed her, moaning against her lips. He shuddered as she led him inside her. He moved inside of her, he enjoyed the sounds of her moans. She was so warm, it was unlike anything he'd ever felt, it was unlike anything he ever thought he'd feel. He caressed her neck with his lips when the water came rushing around him.
Inej ran her fingers through Kaz's short dark hair, she apologized with a chuckle when she thought her rings had gotten caught when she noticed his face. Kaz had his face turned and his eyes shut tight, like he was trying to block some painful thought or memory keeping him from her, he was panicking, she didn't have to ask…not if anything was wrong, not if he was alright, not what he was thinking, nothing…she already knew. She held is face in her hands, "You're not there, Kaz. You're here with me." she turned his face to hers, "Come back to me, Kaz. Stay with me."
Kaz looked at Inej and found himself coming back to her. The feeling of panic was replaced with everything he felt for her—warm feelings that made him feel something he hadn't felt since coming to Ketterdam…safe. Kaz had started moving in her again, leaning in to kiss Inej, his kisses moving down to her breasts, tormenting her as he circled their peaks, her moans urged him on as he reclaimed her lips, murmuring her name against them. He saw her eyes shudder, "Inej, look at me." She opened her eyes, "You're so beautiful." Inej wrapped her arms and legs around Kaz's body as he kissed her.
He picked up speed, Inej never knew it could feel this good, they were both breathing hard, she felt something different, something…warm and expectant. It was almost a twitching…an enjoyable twitch that made her sigh at the sensation. He ran his hands up her thighs to her hips, further up and over her breasts. The twitching became a throbbing, like she wanted more of him inside her, "More." She murmured breathily, as she grabbed his tight backside. As if granting her wish, Kaz changed his cadence it was deeper, more driven…it was ecstasy. She couldn't stop moaning and sighing Kaz's name. The throbbing had become an ache—a sweet ache that permeated every corner of her body, until everything stopped and burst like one of Wylan's explosions. She cried out, jerked forward and grasped Kaz's body with her own.
Oh, Saints! I hurt her! How could I have hurt her?! Kaz was distraught, "Inej!" He stopped moving abruptly, "I'm so sorry, Inej!"
Inej's pleasure was replaced by confusion, "Sorry? Sorry, for what?"
"Did I—Didn't I hurt you?"
"Not at all!" Inej laughed, "In fact…do it again." She kissed his still-astonished face.
"So that's what that was." He smirked knowingly. He'd heard other boys talking about everything they'd done in deserted alleyway and on the mattresses of various backrooms and flop-houses of the harbors and Staves, including what it was to satisfy a woman…he took it as a badge of honor. Kaz chuckled victoriously against her lips as he resumed his cadence, Inej moaned softly, he picked up speed, placing one hand on the headboard for balance as he drove himself deeper. He let out a deep moan as he kissed her. His leg was tightening up, he tried ignoring it but really hurt. He must have been wincing because Inej was clearly concerned.
"Are you not enjoying it?" She was scared to learn the answer.
"It's my Saintsforsaken leg!" He declared with a rueful laugh.
Inej let out a sigh of relief followed by a lusty laugh as she rolled Kaz on his back and straddled his hips, "Better?"
"Better." He whispered happily
Inej leaned down and claimed his lips, she pulled away as Kaz gently pulled her lower lip with his teeth. She sat up to ride him slowly, letting out a breathy moan.
Kaz looked up at Inej, enraptured by how beautiful she was, skin like caramel, eyes like embers, hair like a crow's wing…Saints, how he loved this woman. He would kill or die for her with a smile on his face…and he knew she would do the same for him, it only made him love her more.
Inej rode him deep and slow, her breath quickened and caught as she sped up. Kaz ran his hands up and down her body, sighing at the sight of her. The slow climb back up to that sweet ache had started again.
Kaz sat up, holding Inej by the small of her back. He pressed his lips to the center of her chest, where the ribs met, turning his head to lave each breast. He could feel her grasping him tighter and hear her breath get more rapid, her moans got louder until she cried out his name, grabbing his face to kiss him blind. He held her tight as she rung out every last trembling drop of pleasure from herself.
Inej let her body shake in Kaz's arms and come back down, this time his eyes were full of awe…it flattered her to think that she was the cause. He kissed her softly as he leaned forward to gently lay her onto her back.
Kaz kept his lips on Inej's as he placed her down. He wanted her more than anything else. She ran her hands roaming all over his body, nails lightly scoring his back…it wasn't lost on him that her touch wasn't bothering him…but it surprised him how much he enjoyed it and enjoyed touching her. He lost himself for a moment, back in the harbor again, but he refused to stay there, he opened his eyes and immediately saw her face…and just like that he was back.
She was concerned, "Kaz, stay with—" She was surprised when he cut her off with a kiss.
"I never left." He breathed softly. He ached for her from the inside out, he wanted nothing more than to stay inside her for the rest of his life…but he knew that he would soon have to leave. For the first time he didn't know what to do…so he asked, "Inej. I—"
"I know. Not inside me, please."
Kaz drove himself deeper until he knew he was about lose himself to his ghosts,
"Touch me, Inej!" he begged.
He could feel her hands in his face, his shoulders, his chest, finally she took his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. He withdrew from Inej as he found his peace. It felt like he had died again for a moment, his heart stopped, he didn't breathe, he couldn't move…he was dead…and it didn't scare or hurt him, because he was with her, not in the harbor, not on the barge…just here…now…with Inej. He came to shuddering and breath ragged as pressed his lips to hers…she had torn him asunder and pieced him back together in one breath. She left him breathless. He collapsed beside her. In the aftermath of his bed, now it was Inej's turn to hold and Kaz's to be held.
Kaz lay there in Inej's arms, the fingers of one of her hands gently stroking his hair, the index finger of the other tracing his tattoo, both of them lost in thought.
How could Kaz have known that Tante Heleen had the only woman he'd ever love locked up in her wretched Menagerie what felt like both long ago and all to recent? The price he paid to buy her indenture was a bargain compared to her true worth, a number Heleen or anyone else could never even hope to come close to knowing…but he knew, she was completely and utterly priceless, and even with his hunger for profit he knew that she would always be worth more than anything else.
"How did I not see you?"
"You always see me, Kaz."
"You had to make me see you first…in the Menagerie."
"If I didn't sneak up on you, you wouldn't have known what I could."
"You shouldn't have had to show me. I should have seen you. Every day."
"I didn't expect anyone to ever see me there. I wasn't there to be seen like that. You did, and not just as a plaything for your enjoyment. You saw me."
"I'm sorry you had to wait."
"You ended up being worth the wait."
"What did you say? Earlier. In Suli."
"I said, 'I love you too'." Inej was taken aback to see Kaz's astonished face, the shock in his crystal blue eyes as they peered up at her, "How could you have thought that I would have said anything else?"
Kaz couldn't speak, but then he confessed, "You deserves better, you shouldn't settle for someone like me." He meant what he said, he always knew Inej deserved more than him. He never thought he deserved her.
"Kaz!" She protested.
"I mean it! You deserve someone more than a thug who was as comfortable meting out violence as he was dealing cards. You deserve someone who does the right things, who isn't the monster under people's beds, someone who can bare to be touched by someone else without fainting."
"What happens when you touch others—I understand it better than anyone, as long as you can hold me, that's enough. And what you did in order to survive…we all have had to do things like that."
"It didn't turn you into the monster others fear are under their beds."
"You have done monstrous things, but it has not made you a monster."
"Yes, it has. I am a monster." There was a melancholy bitterness to his voice, "I still don't understand why you choose me."
"I chose you because I love you. And I will love the monster you think you are until you see you are the man that I know you to be." Inej grabbed Kaz by his chin and turned his face to hers when he began to protest, "Dirtyhands, Bastard of the Barrel, Kaz Rietveld, Kaz Brekker. I love all of the men you are, because they made you who you are. You love with such a ferocity that I think it scares you more than anything because you think that it makes you vulnerable, you think it makes you powerless, when you are really empowered by it. And that, Kaz, is why I love you. Your love isn't dirty or broken and neither are you."
Kaz didn't have to say a word, he knew she was right…he didn't deserve her if she wasn't. "I love you. I will always be yours with and without my armor." He inched up to seal his promise with a smoldering kiss.
"There was only ever just one dream."
"Yes." Inej rolled her eyes, "To die buried under the weight of your own gold. I remember."
"No. That wasn't it."
"What was it then, Kaz?" She held her breath.
"This was. Being with you. It has been my only dream for as long as I've known you."
And with that the last piece of Kaz Brekker's impregnable armor had been breached and now there was nothing left between him and Inej…and it made him feel stronger for it.