119. Mira
Chapter One Hundred Nineteen
Mira
I brush my fingers down Rafe’s cheek, keeping my touch light.
He’s sleeping so peacefully, and I don’t want to wake him.
I’ve stayed here every night for the past week.
Sometimes more has happened. Sometimes we’ve just slept.
I am not sure where we are right now, but last night, when I got here and he told me about Alice?.
.?. I knew I had to help him. I know little about Dr?culea, but what I do know is that the sovereign had a similar tyranny over its people as the King and Queen of Pyrrhos did over mine.
That alone made me want to help. That and the fact that she is Rafe’s family.
While he hasn’t told me about his mother or father, he talks about his sisters with enormous affection.
I rest my hand over his heart, watching how his eyelashes fan out over his tanned cheeks. His thick, dark eyebrows are relaxed in sleep, and he looks so much more at ease than when I first saw him in Paradis.
With a soft sigh, I force myself away and climb out of bed to search for my panties and bra.
Even though Summer caught me last night, I need to keep up the charade for Annabeth.
My phoenix can sense Summer’s power, and it is immense.
It makes her wary of Summer, but my primal instincts tell me I can trust her.
I am just finishing fastening my bra when I hear the rasp of a charcoal dragging over paper.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see Rafe sitting up.
The sheet is pooled around his hips, and he is watching me intensely, his eyes dark as they dart between me and the pad.
His eyes lock with mine, and my knees threaten to give way from the intensity of his stare .
“I have to go. Annabeth will be up soon.”
Rafe keeps his eyes on me as his hand moves over the paper, still drawing. I pull on my jeans and my crop top before I glance at him again. “I’ll text you.”
Rafe finally stops sketching and reaches for me. “Kiss me goodbye.”
He looks so fucking delicious in the morning. He looks delicious all the time, but there is something about waking up with him, about the way his hair is still mussed from my fingers last night, his lips swollen from mine, the singe marks on his horns from me channeling my fire into them.
“I can’t keep sleeping here,” I say, walking around the bed and bending to brush my lips over his.
“Why not?” Rafe growls, nipping gently at my lower lip.
“You know why,” I say, pulling back a little.
Rafe cups my cheek, and his hand brushes over the sketch, drawing my attention to it.
It’s stunning. I’m looking over my shoulder at him, and even though it’s a rough sketch, he has perfectly captured how I feel about him in the piece.
My breath catches at the sight of it. How is he so perfect?
“It’s not finished,” Rafe says, also looking at the sketch. I turn his head back to face me and slam my lips to his, kissing him deeply.
Rafe groans as he bites my lip again, his fang piercing me this time. I slide my hand over his jaw, the taste of him threatening to make me forget why I need to leave. Panting, I pull back and stare at him. “I have to go.”
“Do you, though?” Rafe asks, leaning in to claim my mouth again.
I moan as he pulls me back on top of him. I feel his erection beneath me and grab his horns, sending a small flash of heat into them. He arches beneath me, and I rock my hips, luxuriating in the way he’s rubbing against me.
“You’re going to end up naked again,” Rafe growls against my lips.
I know I should pull back, but instead, I deepen the kiss, getting lost in him.
He flips us so he’s on top again, already pushing my jeans and panties off.
He slides his fingers over my core and then plunges into me again.
I arch, crying out from the pleasure, and then I roll us, taking the lead.
The fire burns through me and rushes into him through his horns, and the feeling is so perfect?—
“Rafe!” someone calls from outside, but I barely register it above the sound of my own moans. The blood rushes through my body like a fire spreading through a forest, and Rafe’s possessive growl sends sparks skipping along my skin .
I throw my head back and moan, slamming down on him over and over, lost in the connection I have with this beautiful male.
The door bursts open, piercing the haze of pleasure, and I snap my head around to snarl in annoyance, meeting Annabeth’s pink eyes.
Her shocked gaze is locked on Rafe and me.
I freeze, but my nearly naked body is completely exposed to her.
Rafe snarls when I stop, but Annabeth’s sob of pain pulls him out of his fog of desire, and his eyes clear a little. I shift off Rafe and pull the sheet over us.
“Annabeth, I?—”
She sniffles. “I knew you were keeping a secret, but when I found Rafe’s shirt in your washing pile?—”
“Anna . . .” Rafe says, sitting up.
“You said you weren’t ready for?.?.?.” Her words trail off, tears welling in her eyes as she stares at him.
“It’s complicated,” Rafe says, searching blindly for his pants.
“Looks real complicated,” Annabeth says, and sobs again. Before either of us can say anything, she turns and bolts. Alice grimaces as Annabeth runs past her, though her eyes sparkle with something akin to entertainment.
“Annabeth!” I call, scrambling out of bed and pulling on my jeans before chasing after her.