Chapter 17 #2
Found Kai in the garden, standing by the fountain, staring at nothing. The moonlight caught the tension in his shoulders, the rigid set of his jaw.
He turned when he heard my footsteps. Saw my face. His expression hardened.
"What did he say?"
"I have to move to his wing next week. Monday. He wants me in the suite next to his so we can 'become better acquainted' before the wedding." The words tumbled out fast. Panicked. "And the wedding is in five weeks. Five weeks, Kai. That's all the time we have left."
He started pacing. Fists clenched. Every line of his body radiating barely controlled fury.
"Five weeks isn't enough. I need more time. Father Benedetto needs more evidence. The Council won't move without ironclad proof and we're still gathering—"
"What do we do now?" I wrapped my arms around myself. Tried to hold the pieces together. "How do we keep doing this when I'm living in his wing? When he's going to be watching me constantly?"
Kai stopped pacing. Faced me fully. His hands reached out like he wanted to touch me, then dropped back to his sides.
We couldn't touch. Couldn't risk it. Not here where anyone could see.
"We keep playing our parts. Be perfect. No mistakes. No almost getting caught. No risks." His voice was tight. Controlled. "You go to his wing. You smile and play the obedient bride. And we find moments when we can. Carefully. Quietly."
"I don't know if I can do this." My voice cracked. "Pretend to want him when all I want is you."
"You can. You're stronger than you think." He took half a step closer. Not close enough to touch. Just close enough that I could feel his presence. "We survive this. Together. And when I have enough evidence, when the Council moves, we'll be free. Both of us."
"And if the wedding happens before then?"
His jaw clenched. "It won't. I won't let it."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to have faith that somehow, impossibly, he'd save us.
But five weeks felt like forever and no time at all simultaneously.
That night, I lay in my own bed, staring at the ceiling, missing Kai with an intensity that made breathing difficult.
Too risky to go to his room. Too dangerous with Salvatore back. We couldn't afford any mistakes.
So I stayed in my bed. Alone. Aching.
At 3am, a soft knock on my door made me bolt upright.
I opened it a crack. Kai stood there, hair messed, wearing only sweatpants, expression desperate.
He slipped inside before I could speak. Locked the door behind him.
"I know this is stupid. I know we agreed to be careful. But I couldn't stay away." His hands cupped my face. "I needed to see you. Touch you. Make sure you're real and not some dream I've been having."
"Kai, if we get caught—"
"We won't. I checked. My father took sleeping pills. He's out until morning. Luca is doing perimeter checks. We have time."
His mouth found mine. Hot. Desperate. Hungry.
I opened for him immediately. My hands fisted in his hair, pulling him closer. His tongue swept past my lips, claiming every inch, making sure I knew exactly who I belonged to.
We stumbled toward the bed. He lifted me easily, laying me down gently despite the urgency burning between us.
His hands found the hem of my nightgown, sliding it up slowly. His mouth followed the path his hands traced. My stomach. My ribs. The valley between my breasts.
"I love you." His voice was rough. Raw. "God, I love you so much it's killing me."
"Show me." My hands pulled at his sweatpants. "Show me how much."
What happened next was both gentle and fierce. He took his time, worshipping every inch of skin, making sure I felt cherished. But there was desperation underneath. The knowledge that this might be our last chance for a while.
His hands explored familiar territory like he was memorizing every curve. His mouth followed, placing hot contact on skin that trembled under his attention.
When he finally entered me, we both gasped. Held still for a moment, just feeling the connection. The rightness of it.
Then he moved. Slow at first, then faster. Building rhythm that had me gasping his name. His hand covered my mouth, muffling the sounds that wanted to escape.
"I love you." He repeated it like a prayer. "I love you. I love you. You're mine. Always mine."
I couldn't respond verbally. But I showed him with every movement, every touch, every way my body responded to his.
This was love. Complicated and messy and desperate. Nothing like the romance novels. Everything infinitely better.
After, he held me. Our bodies tangled together, sweat cooling on skin, hearts gradually slowing to normal rhythm.
"I'm going to save us." His fingers traced patterns on my back. "I'm going to gather the evidence. Get Father Benedetto on board. Bring charges to the Council. And we're going to be free. You have to believe that."
"I do." I pressed closer. "I have to believe it. Otherwise, what's the point of any of this?"
"Exactly." He tilted my face up. "Five weeks. That's all we need to endure. Five weeks and then everything changes."
I wanted to believe him. Desperately wanted to think that in five weeks, we'd be together. That his plan would work. That somehow, impossibly, we'd get our happy ending.
But lying there in his arms, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were running out of time. That the clock was ticking faster than we could move. That five weeks might as well be five minutes.
I pushed the thoughts away. Focused on the present. On the way he held me. On the steady beat of his heart under my ear. On the warmth of his skin against mine.
This moment was real. This was ours. And whatever came next, we'd face it together.
Even if that meant walking straight into hell.
As long as we were together, I could survive anything.
At least, that's what I told myself as I drifted off to sleep in his arms, knowing that when morning came, we'd have to pretend this night never happened.
Knowing that in less than a week, I'd be living in Salvatore's wing. Under his control. Playing a role that got harder every single day.
Five weeks until the wedding.
Five weeks to save ourselves.
Five weeks that would determine whether love was enough to overcome the violence and control that defined this world.
I held Kai tighter. Prayed to a god I wasn't sure I believed in anymore. Asked for a miracle we probably didn't deserve.
And hoped that somehow, against all odds, we'd find a way to survive.