I close my eyes, breathing her in even though she’s farther than I want. I want her pressed against me—her body wrapped in mine, her scent embedded in my skin, her mouth sealed to mine.
Despite all of it, I don’t lift my hands to touch her, because I know the moment I feel her warmth, discretion will go straight to hell.
“I was worried about you, Nina,” I say, opening my eyes. “You disappeared all day.”
“I needed to take care of a few things.” What things? The question sits on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow it. If she wanted to tell me, she would have.
There’s an almost guilty look on her face. Nina draws a deep breath, and the distance between us turns into an even worse sensation.
“Stay with me tonight?” I ask, needing to end the tightness inside me. “We can go to a hotel—we can leave the island, if you want.” Anything. We can do anything, as long as it means I get to touch her. Her teeth catch her lower lip before she answers.
“I can’t, Nero,” she says, but the anguish on her face tells me she wants to, even if her body language gives me no proof.
“Are you okay?” I ask—I need to know. She gives me a calming smile.
“I am.” Nina pauses, sighing. “I’m just tired, dying to drown in your scent, to kiss you properly, and wanting to rip my hair out in frustration because I can’t do that—because this damn island can’t keep its tongue in its mouth.”
The relief her confession brings is so intense it startles me.
I abandon my resolve not to touch her. I lift my hand and cup her cheek, deciding that minimal contact is, indeed, better than none.
“We need to buy that bed.”
“I’d happily sleep on the floor if it meant you’d be by my side—but if I leave here with you at this hour, God only knows what they’ll invent tomorrow morning.” She leans into the caress and kisses my palm. “I wouldn’t care if it were just me, Nero. I swear—let them all go to hell. But I promised my mother.”
“I know,Little Fae. I know. Hugging you would be great, sleeping with you would be heaven—but I’m satisfied knowing you’re okay. I really was worried,” I say, keeping my eyes on hers to make sure she also understands what I’m not saying:Please don’t disappear like this again.
“I’m sorry about that. It was a hectic day.”
“Can I ask—doing what?” Nina shrugs, the sudden stiffness in her shoulders betraying how little indifferent she is about whatever she’s choosing not to tell me.
“I was just taking care of a few things,” she repeats.
Now it’s my turn to bite my lower lip. I nod.
“I should go,” I say.
She nods, kisses my palm once more, and steps back. I tilt my head, warning her of what I’m about to do, before closing the distance and fitting our lips together in a kiss that reverberates through my entire body. Nina lets out a soft moan, just as needy for more as I am.
“Good night,Little Fae.”
“Good night, boyfriend,” she answers in a frustrated sigh—and it draws a restrained smile of satisfaction from me.
I get back into the car, but I watch her for nearly a full minute before starting the engine. With every meter the wheels carry me over the cobblestones, frustration floods my veins and grows stronger.
Although I’ve always called Khione’s gossip spirit a curse, this is the first time in my life I truly see it that way.
CHAPTER 27
NERO ZANTHOS
I blow out the candle placed between two low floral arrangements, extinguishing it. The table set romantically for two was a surprise an hour and a half ago. Now, it feels like nothing more than the final stamp on my ‘World’s Worst Boyfriend’ certificate.
The emptiness around me in the apartment has grown deeper after I spent nearly two hours planted here, waiting for a Nina who never came—nor gave me any sign of why that happened.
I don’t know what to do. I laugh at myself, even though humor is the last thing I can find in my body right now. The last two weeks have been… complicated.
Maybe Nina was right when she said we were moving too fast—but I was right too when I said I didn’t care. The days we spent sharing every second of our free time did accelerate things between us. Life, however, did its job when time ran out, forcing us to slam the brakes without caring about the consequences.
