before he can react. He doesn’t stiffen or freeze. He kisses me back with as much as hunger as I’m pouring into him.
As he lifts me, I cling to him, never once breaking our kiss. If my eyes were open, I’d see us passing through the house and climbing the stairs to my room. I’m too lost in him—his tongue assaulting mine, his teeth nipping at my top lip—to notice anything until my back hits the mattress. Our first time together resurfaces, and I find the need for him has intensified from then to now. I can’t shimmy out of my jeans fast enough as he unbuckles his belt and kicks off of his pants. Ripping my sweater over my head, I toss it over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Left in my underwear, I find Raphael’s eyes burning as he takes me in while unbuttoning his shirt. Desire and need overwhelm me. I struggle to catch my breath, not wanting to give away how much I want him. In this moment, as he leans on the bed, hovering above me, I don’t care if I’m wearing nothing but a coat of vulnerability before him. I don’t care that all my needs are on show for him.
I just need him. Reaching for his face, I grip onto his hair and pull him to me.
“Fuck me, Raphael.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Raphael
The sun wakes me, and I lift my head from the pillow to look at the time. The miniature grandfather clock says it’s just after five, and I relax.
Rolling my head to the side, I see Mila—a naked Mila—sleeping soundly beside me, her leg pressed against mine. She’s changed so much, but she still feels like she used to—mine.
Making myself comfortable on my side, I lean on my elbow and run my fingers down her back and up again until she stirs. I know the moment she wakes, but she doesn’t move to face me.
“Good morning,” I murmur, continuing to rub her back.
“Is it? Is the fight over?”
A silent chuckle escapes as I lean down and trace my lips where my fingers just were. She smells of me, of us together, and it arouses me to no end.
“I’m afraid not. Although, I’d say one fight has truly ended.”
Reaching down for the sheets without moving so much, she covers herself as she turns to face me, but there’s no trace of humour.
“Don’t think last night changes anything.”
This time, my laugh is loud, as I’m clearly amused. “It changes everything.”
She’s woken without the need to fight me, and goes to get out of bed. After last night, I’m not letting her get away so easily.
Before she can move, I shift myself on top of her, brushing away her hair so I can see every inch of her face. “Waking up lying next to you, knowing I’m the first person you see, it’s already how I plan to spend every morning going forward, and I don’t care if I become addicted.”
“Raphael—”
“Don’t,” I warn. “You desire me as much as I do you.”
“Desire leads to distractions, something we can’t afford.”
“It’ll be more distracting if you continue to be stubborn. You think I’ll be able to think straight if you’re in danger, regardless if we share a bed or not?”
She turns her head to the side, trying to shield her face from me. She’ll soon learn she isn’t hiding from me ever again.
“Too much has happened.”
“So you keep saying. Destiny brought us together, but it’s down to us to make this work, and it can work, Mila. If my father hadn’t ruined everything, we would have married a long time ago. We would’ve had a family by now, our own businesses… we would have had everything. Stop thinking about the past.”
“It’s that easy? You expect me to trust your word? You expect me to love you the way I once did? You expect too much.”
“Love doesn’t change, Mila. I’ve seen how you work lately, and if you truly wanted me dead, I’d have been in my grave a long, long time ago. We both missed countless opportunities to kill one another, all intentionally, so don’t tell me you don’t love me.”
I drop my head to take her lips, and just as I’d hoped, she doesn’t shove me away.
Her legs tangle in the sheets as she works to wrap them around me, pulling me against her.
“I’ll say it a thousand times until it sinks in. I love you, Mila. Always have, never stopped, and always will.”