I don’t understand what’s happening. Then I see it—something gleams, flashes, spins across the marble.
A knife. Small, sharp, wicked. Gleaming under the chandelier’s light.
One of our guards, disguised as a sommelier, there in a flash, snatching the blade, barking commands in rapid-fire Italian into his discreet comms.
A woman screams. A high, piercing sound that cuts through the polite chatter. The press swarms, a sudden, frantic surge towards the commotion, their cameras flashing like a thousand tiny explosions.
Chaos erupts.
I stand there, stunned. Frozen in place as Rafe’s guards drag the man out. My heart's pounding so hard I can practically hear it echoing in my ears. I was almost knifed in the middle of a fashion gala.
Because of my stupid video.
Because of us.
Rafe storms back to me, his face a mask of primal fury, his eyes blazing. He grabs my face with both hands, his fingers digging into my skin, pulling my attention solely to him. His touch's rough, desperate, yet strangely tender.
"Are you hurt?" he demands. “Did the knife touch you?” His eyes search mine, frantic, desperate. “Are you cut? Turn around, let me see.”
"No," I gasp, shaking my head. I'm reeling, still processing the incident.
"Are you sure?" His thumbs trace the line of my jaw, his hands trembling.
Jesus Christ! He's shaking.
The powerful, controlled Rafe. He's actually shaking. Because I almost died and he couldn’t stop it fast enough.
It's the most vulnerable I've ever seen him.
The most human.
And before I can stop him, before I can even process the implications of his unraveling, he kisses me. His mouth slams against mine, hard, desperate. It's not gentle. It's a claim. A raw, untamed passion that consumes me whole.
I melt into him as if I've been waiting my whole life for this kind of panic.
The kind that says don't die.
The kind that says I will never let you go.
Flashbulbs go off all around us. The sound's deafening. But the only thing I see and feel is Rafe. His hands tangled in myhair, pulling me closer. His mouth taking everything. His body pressed against mine, a solid, unyielding wall against the chaos.
In this moment, in the middle of terror and chaos, everything feels terrifyingly real. And I know, that I'm irrevocably his.
And he's mine.
The world can burn.
But he’ll hold me through it.
And I’ll never let go.
CHAPTER 28
RAFE
Idon't speak on the ride. My hands are clenched tight. The memory of Nikki's fear and shock still burning in my mind.
I sent her home immediately with a full team of guards. The man we pulled from the gala, the one with the knife, the one who dared to touch her is unconscious in the trunk.
