Chapter 38
The night air is cool, but not enough to make me uncomfortable.
Except for the soft hum of the city below, its skyline lights dancing across the adjacent buildings, the terrace is quiet.
It would be remarkably relaxing if I weren’t constantly glancing over my shoulder, worried that I’m going to need to intercept a bloodbath in the kitchen between Enzo and Cillian.
Their conversation has stayed civil—at least it appears so from this side of the glass—but this is the longest they’ve spent alone since Cillian walked in on the us. I checked on them a few minutes ago and thought Enzo was coming, but something held him up again .
I lift my feet onto the terrace chaise and pull the blanket over them. The soft clink of glass pulls my attention to the sliding door, where Enzo is finally returning with our drinks. He has an odd grin on his face, and I can’t quite tell if he’s amused with himself or relieved.
“Mission accomplished,” he announces, handing me one of the glasses—the moonlight reflecting on the surface of the white wine.
“Are you referring to getting the wine or not getting sucker punched by my brother again?”
“Both,” Enzo chuckles, taking a seat on my chaise and wrapping his arm around me. “But honestly… The second one was definitely a toss-up.”
I smile over the rim of my glass as I take a sip of the amber-colored wine. “So, how’d it go?” I ask seriously.
He reclines with a sigh, pulling me to the plush cushion of the chaise-back with him, taking a second to gather his thoughts. “I apologized,” he states simply. “Told him I was sorry for not telling him about us sooner. For sneaking around behind his back, even if it wasn’t meant to hurt him.”
“And?”
“He didn’t sucker punch me in the face.” He laughs. I join him, the sound of our amusement dissipating into the night air. “And neither of us is currently in the ER. So, I’m going to call that a win.”
He shifts to face me more fully, propping one arm on the back of the chaise. His tone more solemn, he shares, “He was actually decent. A little grumpy… as expected. Protective… of course. But I respect him. He loves you.”
“He does,” I agree, swirling the wine in my glass. “The two of you… Are you?—”
“I’d say things are gonna be fine.”
I glance up at the sky, trying to see the stars through city lights and pollution. “You ever just sit and think about how weird it is how all this worked out? Or is going to work out,” I correct myself.
He hums, considering. “Weird, maybe. But not surprising. Something about the two us… We make sense even though we shouldn’t.”
“You’re ridiculously charming.” I nudge his side.
“I know.” I roll my eyes at his cool cockiness, and he teasingly gruffs, “I saw that, princess.”
I set my wine glass on the little table beside us and snuggle in closer. He reaches over me and adds his glass beside mine before pulling the blanket further around me. Breathing in the scent of him, I press my face to his collarbone—woodsy and comforting, a little like cedar and salt.
Enzo inches closer until the heat of his body is pressing gently against mine.
He leans down, his dark hair falling a little over his forehead, as he stares at me with an intensity that causes my heart to skip a beat.
His fingers dust gently along the curve of my shoulder, feather soft.
I close my eyes and lean into him, letting the warmth radiating from him sink into me .
His soft lips dust along my skin, the gentle wetness of his lips and tongue replacing the light touch of his hand. He trails kisses over my collarbone and up the side of my neck. My heart races as his lips linger on the ticklish spot below my ear, sending a tiny shiver zipping down my spine.
Enzo’s hand slides down my back, and he pulls me closer, fully pressing his rock-hard body against me.
A tiny gasp flies from my lips when his hard length grinds against my hip.
I turn my face toward him, just enough for our eyes to meet, and the intensity in his gaze takes me by surprise.
His eyes are dark—almost black in the moonlight—an undeniable hunger raging behind them.
It’s a look that I have come to know all too well.
One that causes me to lose control of myself in the best of ways.
He dips his head, and my breath hitches when he pauses a hair’s breadth from my lips—teasingly making me wait for his kiss.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs huskily, the deep vibrato sending flutters between my thighs.
He closes the distance, and his lips brush against mine in a feather-light touch, pulling back when I try to take more.
His hand wrapping around my throat, he tightens the hold and crashes his lips against mine. I kiss him back, almost reflexively. Our lips and tongues move together in a rough, needy rhythm as his hands roam over my body with desperation—unable to get enough of me.
He breaks our kiss, both of us breathless, as he presses his lips back to the exposed cleavage at the low neckline of my shirt.
The feeling of him kissing over my skin sets every nerve in my body on fire, and all I can think about is what it’s going to take to extinguish the need he’s currently igniting in me.
His lips brush along the shell of my ear, and he stills, his breath warm against my skin. “Eavan,” he whispers, his voice low and dark. “I think I need to take you inside, princess.”
A gasp catches in my throat at the way he says it—low, seductive, like a promise of what’s to come when he gets me upstairs. Opening my eyes and meeting his gaze, I nod. “Yes, Daddy. I think you should.”