The small woodenpegs clattered against the board as Raffaele made his final move. “And that, my dear, is what we call a flawless victory.”
I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the couch with a dramatic groan. “Flawless? Please. You cheated.”
He raised an eyebrow, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement. “How exactly did I cheat, darling? Enlighten me.”
“You distracted me with the wine, and with the hair and the body…”
A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. “If you’re so easily distracted, that’s hardly my fault.”
I huffed and crossed my arms, but a smile tugged at my lips. Being here with him, especially when he was so playful and at ease, made it feel like the cabin was in an entirely different world. One where danger couldn’t reach us.
“We’ll play another round,” he said, leaning forward to reset the board.
“Another chance to crush my spirit? No thanks.”
He looked up, staring intently into my eyes. “Crushing your spirit is the last thing I’d ever want to do.”
The sincerity in his voice left me momentarily speechless. I barely noticed when he reached for me until I was in his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I rested my head against his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat as I stared at the crackling flames in the fireplace.
“When do you think it’ll be safe to go back?” I asked.
He stroked my back absently. The bond betrayed his emotions—calm on the surface but with an undercurrent of worry he couldn’t entirely hide.
“I’m not sure. I’m working on a plan, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
I tilted my head up to look at him, but his gaze was fixed on the fire, his expression distant.
“Raffaele,” I said softly, placing my hand on his chest. His eyes flicked down to meet mine, and it felt like the rest of the world fell away.
He lifted my chin gently so I couldn’t look anywhere but at him. His dark eyes burned with intensity, and the bond thrummed with a promise I could feel as much as hear.
“I will keep you safe,” he said. “No matter what happens next, I’ll do everything within my power to keep you safe.”
There were no words for what I felt in that moment—for the man holding me, for the emotions coursing through us both. He was mine, as much as I was his.
I replayed his words in my head.Within his power. My actions had affected his ability to keep me safe. The guilt washed over me as I remembered the siren’s kiss. I’d been so caught up in my own head after everything happened with Lord Thorne that I hadn’t given a second thought to Raffaele’s deteriorating magic. And it was all my fault.
I didn’t want to think about what I’d done, about what the siren’s kiss meant for Raffaele. I couldn’t.
I leaned forward and kissed him tentatively. His lips were warm, and for a moment, he didn’t move, as if surprised. Then he responded, sliding his hand up my back until his fingers tangled in my hair.
The kiss deepened, growing desperate, and the bond ignited like wildfire, our emotions entwining completely.
I was insatiable… desperate for more of him, as if he were the air I’d been starving for. His need was as intense as mine, a shared hunger that made my heart stutter. I dug my nails into his back as he stood, lifting me like I weighed nothing.
He carried me to the couch, his shadows flickering around us like a protective barrier, and gently laid me down, his lips never leaving mine.
I didn’t think about what had happened, about what might come next.
In that moment, there was only him.
The couch pressed against my back as Raffaele laid me down, his body hovering over mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. There was no hesitation in his movements, no tentative testing of boundaries. His hands were already at the hem of my sweatshirt, pulling it over my head in one smooth motion, leaving me in nothing but shorts and the thin lace bra the cabin had provided for me.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he murmured, his voice low and rough as his hands slid over my body as if he was memorizing every curve of my body. The fire in his eyes made my heart race, and I couldn’t stop the shiver that coursed through me as he hooked his fingers into the waistband of my shorts, tugging them down my legs.
“Raffaele,” I breathed. “You’re?—”
“Not wasting any time,” he finished, his lips quirking into a smirk as he tossed my shorts aside. “Because I can’t.”
