He watched the fire in her eyes go mute with surrender, but the fury in him was unchanged. Vayne could feel it seething in his nostrils, smoldering in the heave of his chest against hers. Victory ought to have calmed him, returned some of his composure - but the way Tifa's body softened beneath his only stoked the urges rampaging through his mind.

Because it wasn't the fight he wanted to win. It was her.

The bar of muscle eased some of the pressure from her throat, enough to let her breathe again. Vayne's head tilted toward one side - and his lips glided over the curve of her cheek as he brought them to her ear. The hand pinning hers down tightened at that brief contact with her skin, warm like the sands of her kingdom. He pressed his full weight into her, whispering into her ear through gritted teeth.

"You know the price of defeat."

Vayne nudged her chin with his forearm, lifting her head just enough that her soft lips panted beside his own ear. "Say it. Swear yourself to me. I am yours, Vayne."