41. Sina
We drove back toward the island in silence, and I was already starting to regret agreeing to stay until my shift on Thursday night. Everything had been go go go all week, and I hadn’t had a single moment to just stop and breathe, let alone think.
Going from living alone for a year to constantly having someone around me, had my head spinning in ways I hadn’t expected. I told myself I just needed space, that it was just exhaustion talking.
The truth was more complicated than that.
There was the very real question of where I was going to sleep tonight.
The last time I’d been here, I’d started off in Rafe’s bed and somehow ended up in Nik’s.
My chest tightened. I had no idea what Nik wanted from me or how I would respond to seeing him again.
It's been a week since we’d spoken. Since my world turned upside down.
He’d dropped me back into my life like nothing had happened between us and disappeared.
I huffed and adjusted my seatbelt, turning my face toward the window.
Don't think about that asshole.
I watched the road slide past as my mind replayed Rafe’s answer. The declaration was so simple, but confusing as hell. ‘ As long as she’ll have me.’ Danielle had been right to swoon over his words. I had to. It had lodged itself somewhere deep in my chest and took root.
What did he mean by that? He couldn’t possibly have meant it the way it sounded. Could he?
I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I apparently had four men who wanted me. Well… three , really. Because Nik was a giant question mark, and thinking about him only made everything feel messier.
The exit off the bridge came up fast as we crossed back onto the island, the familiar roads sliding past while my thoughts stayed tangled. The car slowed, and before I could ask why, he eased onto the shoulder and brought us to a stop .
“What are you doing?”
He put the car in park and finally turned to face me. “You seem like you need my undivided attention. So I’m giving it to you.”
My breath caught. I’d never met anyone like Rafe, someone who could be so blunt and somehow say so much while saying so little.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Start with why you’re debating opening that door and running.”
My brows shot up. “How did you know that? Vampire sense or something?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. I’m an empath, Sina. I can feel the emotions of others. And I’ve felt your fear and your sadness since you got into the car. I just don’t know why you feel that way.”
The words settled slowly, clicking into place one by one.
Suddenly, a hundred little moments made sense.
The way my anxiety dulled around him. How my breathing evened out without me realizing it.
How the constant hum of panic I’d lived with for years seemed quieter whenever he was near.
I’d thought it was just his presence, his calm nature, the way he never crowded me or demanded anything.
The urge to run surged anyway, familiar enough to almost be comforting.
My hand itched toward the door handle, muscles primed for escape.
To run away from something that could shatter me.
But I knew that feeling now. It wasn’t danger.
It wasn’t instinct. It was insecurity. Physically, I was safe with Rafe. I knew that deep in my bones.
But emotionally?
I wasn't so sure.
Someone like Rafe was easy to love. I wouldn't survive losing a love like his. So no, it wasn't Rafe I wanted to run from, it was me .
“Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours, honey. ”
I swallowed and twisted my fingers together in my lap before finally speaking.
“Did you really mean that? What you told Danielle.” Once the words started, they spilled out faster than I could organize them.
“Because if you just said it to justify being at the bar, because of duty or whatever, I get it. You’re there to make sure Jack’s safe, right?
And me being there doesn’t actually have anything to do with it.
That’s fine. I just don’t want to assume there’s something going on between us if there isn’t and then end up looking like an idiot. ”
“Sina, please . Shut up.”
Did he just tell me to shut up?
I gaped at him. A startled snort burst out of me before I could stop it.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, half horrified, half amused, the sound cutting clean through the spiral in my head.
Of all the things he could have said. I shook my head, another small laugh slipping out before I could catch it.
“I can’t believe you just told me to shut up. What are you, twelve?”
Rafe chuckled, rolling his eyes. “You’re overthinking it, honey.” His gaze stayed on mine, steady and patient. “You already know the answer to your questions.”
I lowered my hand slowly. “What does that even mean, Rafe?”
I felt exhausted. My chest tightened again.
He reached for my wrist gently, guiding my hand down from my face, then cupped my cheek in his palm. His touch was careful, warmth radiating on contact.
“If I kiss you, it will make the sadness you’re carrying ease up a little.” He said it so surely I snorted again.
“I don’t think that’s how sadness works.” I smiled, trying to soften the words so I didn't hurt his feelings.
“It will , Sina. For a while, at least. "
He leaned in slowly, giving me time to pull away if I wanted to.
I didn’t. His lips brushed mine, soft at first, unhurried.
The knot in my chest loosened with every gentle press, every quiet second he stayed there, like he wasn’t in a rush to take anything faster.
His hand slid from my cheek to the back of my neck, warm and grounding, holding me steady.
For a moment, there was nothing else. No questions.
No spirals. No fear about what came next.
My thoughts slowed, and soon my heartbeat followed.
The kiss deepened just enough to make my breath hitch, my body leaning into him without thinking.
When he finally pulled back, I chased his lips before I caught myself.
“If that’s how you always kiss me, I’m in trouble.”
He chuckled but it was forced. “Better?”
I nodded, surprised to find it was true.
When I opened my eyes his thumb traced along my jaw, lingering, and my chest tightened again, not with sadness this time, but with something tender and dangerous all at once.
His breath trembled as he rested his forehead against mine, and that was when I noticed it.
The way his shoulders held just a little too tight.
The faint tension at the corner of his jaw.
Like he’d taken something from me and was quietly bracing around it.
“Why Rafe? How?”
“I told you, honey. I'm an empath. Not only can I feel the emotions of others, but through touch I can absorb them too.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“You actually meant it? Your kiss absorbed my.. pain ?”
He nodded.
My breath caught in surprise.
“Why would you do that, Rafe? It looks painful!”
The idea of him hurting himself for me, it didn't settle well in my chest at all .
“Because I don’t think I’d ever say no to you.” His expression softened. “I’d do anything to make you happy, Sina.”
I frowned and shook my head roughly. I did not like the idea of causing him pain at all.
“Don't do that.” Because now I knew exactly what it would cost him.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He kissed me again, brief but sure. “I wanted to. Don’t feel guilty.”
“I don’t want to ever hurt you.” My throat closed over a new emotion I didn't want to analyze. No man ever in my life has tried to take my pain from me, and if Rafe wasn't careful, I'd fall for him.
“It’s my burden to bear as your mate. And I’m honored to carry it.”
Well. Fuck. I had no idea what to say to that.
Heat crept up my neck as I turned my face toward the window, my emotions buzzing softly under my skin.
It was going to take some getting used to, someone knowing how I felt even when I didn’t.
But I couldn’t deny it. I felt lighter. And it was a relief to have a break.
I was startled by the sound of a motorcycle breaking the silence. My head lifted instinctively toward the side mirror. A single yellow beam curved into view behind us, cutting through the dark road as it drew closer.
My heart stuttered. Damn it. What was it with bikers being so sexy?
Masked and leather… Especially knowing this one was mine . The corners of my mouth lifted before I could stop it.
The black and red Ducati pulled up alongside the passenger window, engine rumbling low and familiar. Before I could even reach for the window, it started rolling down on its own.
I glanced at Rafe. He smirked. Just a ghost of a smile. It was in his honey-colored eyes.
“I told you. Empath. You got happy when you saw him coming.”
Heat rushed to my face .
“Who am I to deny you his affections?”
I squeezed his hand and gazed back out the window, only to find Kiron leaned against the handlebars of his bike, helmet still on. The visor reflected the interior light, so all I could see was myself staring back, wide-eyed and flushed.
My pulse kicked up. Hard .
He reached out and brushed his fingertips along my cheek, slow and deliberate, like he knew exactly what it would do to me.
And yeah . It absolutely obliterated me.
I fucking melted. I mean. Ruined my panties with a single stroke, melted.
The man knew it too. His deep laugh hit my ears, and I shivered.
“See you soon, princess.”
Then he kicked up into a wheelie and took off like a bat in the night.
“Show off.”
Rafe pulled back onto the winding road that led to the gated three-story mansion, and my nerves returned with a vengeance, the calm he’d given me shattering in an instant.
I glanced at him as he drove, studying the set of his shoulders now that I knew what to look for, and realized just how much I still didn’t know about these vampires.
Did they all have abilities like Rafe’s? Or was he unique?
The unknown made my skin prickle, unease settling deep in my chest. Whatever secrets they were keeping, I was done being the only one who didn’t know everything.