Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 94

The Contract of the Flesh

​The click of the heavy suite door locking behind them was the loudest sound in the world.

It signaled the end of the mission, the end of the public eye, and the beginning of a reality that belonged only to them.

​The expansive room was bathed in the cool, blue glow of the Hong Kong skyline.

Yet, the air inside felt thick, charged with the lingering, sweet scent of Aen's vintage wine and the low-frequency, magnetic hum of Yoongi's presence.

He hadn't let go of her waist since they stepped out of the elevator; if anything, his grip had tightened, his large hand a branding iron against her skin.

​"Shoes off, Jagi," Yoongi commanded.

His voice was no longer the gravelly rumble of the restaurant; it was a dark, private rasp.

​Aen giggled, the Cabernet making her feel weightless as she kicked off her heels, stumbling back against the cool wood of the foyer wall.

"You're still being an Agent, Yoon. Always giving orders."

​Yoongi didn't smile.

He stepped into her space, his shadow swallowing her whole.

He reached into his inner breast pocket and pulled out the blue velvet Darry Ring box, placing it on the marble console table beside them with a definitive, heavy thud.

Beside it, he laid his Minjeung-the resident registration card that had legally and unalterably sealed their fate in the database.

​"The mission is over, Aen-ah," he whispered, his hands coming up to cup her face, his thumbs tracing the line of her jaw with a possessive heat.

"And right now, I don't feel like being a Consultant."

​Aen's breath hitched.

The wine-induced haze was still there, but it was being rapidly replaced by a sharp, electric awareness.

She reached up, her fingers fumbling with the buttons of his black shirt-the same shirt she had buried her face in just moments ago.

​"You gave them your ID," she breathed, her eyes searching his in the dim light.

"You told the whole world you're mine forever. Was that part of the script, too?"

​Yoongi's gaze darkened, his eyes dropping to her lips before snapping back to hers.

He didn't answer with words.

Instead, he gathered both of her wrists in one of his large hands, pinning them gently but completely above her head against the wooden paneling.

The "0" on her wrist was pressed flushed against the "0" on his-a perfect, silent alignment of destiny and absolute choice.

​"I don't follow scripts when it comes to you, Jagi," he growled.

He leaned in, his nose brushing against hers, the heat of his breath ghosting over her skin.

"I signed that paper because I wanted every database in the world to know that I'm off the market. That if anyone wants you, they have to go through me first."

​Aen arched her back, her heart drumming a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

"Prove it," she challenged, her voice a breathy dare.

"Prove that the 'One Life' rule starts right now."

​Yoongi let out a low, guttural sound-a mix of a laugh and a snarl.

He released her wrists only to slide his hands down her body, gathering the fabric of her dress and pulling her flush against him.

He wasn't being careful anymore; the restraint he had practiced all day in the jewelry store and the restaurant had snapped.

​He captured her mouth in a kiss that tasted of dark cherries and desperation, his tongue claiming hers with a dominance that left her lightheaded.

He backed her harder against the wood, his hands moving with a frantic, possessive energy to pull her more closer, as if even the layers of their clothes were a distance he could no longer tolerate.

​"The bed," she gasped out against his lips, her hands clutching at his shoulders.

​"No," Yoongi muttered, his mouth moving to the sensitive curve of her neck, his teeth grazing her skin just enough to leave a mark-a physical 'Resident Registration' of his own.

"I'm not walking another ten feet without tasting you first."

He moved back to her lips, drowning her in another kiss that was deeper, hungrier, and more demanding than the last.

​He hoisted her up, her legs instinctively wrapping around his waist as he backed her further into the darkness of the suite, the lights of Hong Kong sparkling behind them like a distant, forgotten dream.

Tonight, there were no numbers, no high-stakes missions, and no geographical distance.

There was only the weight of the lifetime rings on the table and the consuming fire of the man holding her.

​The suite opened up, a vast expanse of plush carpets and floor-to-ceiling glass.

The harbor lights outside flickered like a million voyeurs, but inside, the only light came from the moon reflecting off the white linens of the king-sized bed.

​He lowered her onto the mattress, but he didn't follow her down immediately.

Instead, he stood at the edge of the bed, his fingers working the remaining buttons of his black shirt with a slow, deliberate rhythm that made Aen's mouth go dry.

​"Look at me," he commanded, his voice dropping an octave.

​Aen watched, her heart hammering against her ribs, as the shirt fell away.

In the moonlight, the "0" on his wrist seemed to glow against his skin-a permanent digital brand that matched the one currently burning on her own arm.

​"This is not a script nor it is a dream," he murmured, crawling onto the bed, his weight shifting the mattress until he was hovering directly over her.

He took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers so that their soulmate marks were pressed together, skin-to-skin, completing the circuit.

​"I know," she breathed, reaching up to trace the scar on his shoulder, her touch light and reverent.

"You're real and not just a dream anymore."

​Yoongi leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear, his voice a low, dangerous vibration.

"And just like the 'One Life' rule, Jagi, tonight, I'm going to make sure you remember exactly who you belong to."

​He captured her lips again, but this time it wasn't a question or a challenge.

It was a promise.

As his hands began to wander, tracing the curves the wine had made her so bold about earlier, the last remnants of the "Agent" faded away.

​In the quiet of the Hong Kong night, there was no Suga, and no Consultant.

There was only a man who had waited far too long for this "forever" to start, and the woman who had finally made him believe in it.