Page 89 of Bound in Ruin

"Dominic?" her voice breaks through the dark, small and groggy. She turns over, her eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through the sheer curtains. "Why are you awake?"

I keep my gaze fixed on the ceiling and force a smile. "Go back to sleep, Rosalia."

She doesn't close her eyes. She lies there in the quiet, the silence stretching between us for a long, agonizing minute.

"I'm sorry," she whispers softly into the dark. "For snapping at you earlier."

"It's fine," I reply, my voice tight.

"It's not," she insists quietly. "I know I hurt you. I'm sorry, Dominic. Really."

The mattress shifts again. This time, by her own choice, she slides across the space separating us. She reaches out, her small, warm hand resting gently on my chest before she leans up and presses a soft, tentative kiss to my lips.

My whole body stiffens. I pull back just an inch, looking up at her in the faint moonlight.

"Stay away, Rosalia," I warn her, my voice turning gravelly, thick with raw restraint. "Please. You know I've never been able to resist you."

She doesn't flinch this time. She holds my gaze, her eyes completely clear. "I don't want you to."

She closes the remaining distance, her lips finding mine again.

The kiss starts slow, but the moment her fingers entangle in my hair, the breath hitches in my throat. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against me, sinking into the warmth of her mouth.

When we finally break apart, both of us breathing heavily in the dark, she rests her forehead against mine, her hand cupping the side of my face.

"Promise me," she whispers, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "Promise me you will never lie to me again. No more secrets, Dominic. Never again."

I look straight into her eyes, no walls left to hide behind. "I promise you. On my life, Rosalia. Never again."

She exhales a long, shaky breath, relaxing against my chest.

I stroke her back gently, the quiet settling over us once more. The confusion, the fear, the intensity of what we've been running from suddenly feels too heavy to keep bottled up inside.

"I have feelings for you, Rosalia," I admit softly, the truth spilling out of me first. "Real ones. And honestly... it terrifies the hell out of me."

Rosalia quietens for a moment, resting her head over my heart, listening to its steady thud.

"I feel the same for you too," she murmurs into my skin, her fingers tracing soft patterns on my shoulder. "It confuses me, and it scares me after everything... but it's real."

I pull the blanket up over her shoulders, tightening my hold around her as she snuggles closer into my side. For the first time all night, the tension in my chest dissolves, replaced by a sweet peace as we fall asleep together in the dark.

"One more thing," Rosalia whispers, her voice muffled against my chest, breaking the quiet right as I begin to drift off.

"Yeah?"

She lifts her head slightly, her dark eyes looking up into mine with a serious look. "You have to stop treating me like a case file, Dominic. No more reading my reactions like a tactical report, no more investigating my life from behind a desk. If you want to know something about me—how I feel, what I like, what I want—you ask me. Directly."

A small, quiet breath escapes my lips, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Fair enough."

I stroke a thumb across her cheekbone, holding her gaze in the dim moonlight. "Then let me ask you directly... will you let me take you out? On a real date. Just you and me. No bodyguards hovering, no business attached, no bullshit."

Rosalia blinks, caught off guard for a fraction of a second, before a clear, musical laugh bubbles out of her chest.

"A real date?" she echoes, a soft, genuine smile spreading across her face.

"A real date," I confirm, my chest swelling at the sound of her laughter.

"Yes, Dominic," she murmurs, snuggling back down into the crook of my neck, resting her arm over my waist. "I'd really like that."