Not as Konstantin’s wife.
Not as a target.
Just as Raelyn.
“Why are you crying?”
We both jump. I spin around to see Konstantin standing there, scowl sharp as knives. His gaze flickers between Ellie and me, and the murderous intent in his eyes is palpable.
“You made her cry?” he asks Ellie. His voice is low, dangerous, like the promise of a storm.
I rise to my feet, squaring myself. “No,” I snap. “She made me laugh. She reminded me who I was.”
He doesn’t speak. Just watches me, unblinking.
From behind, Ellie clears her throat. “I’ll take my leave.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she steps forward, hugs me tightly, and whispers in my ear, “Your husband looks like he needs you.”
I inhale sharply, caught between amusement and dread. She waves one last time and vanishes down the path.
I turn back to Konstantin, heat rising. “You’re meddling,” I accuse.
His smirk is almost feral. “I don’t care,” he says. “If I see you crying, I’ll meddle.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting with your brother?”
He shrugs, eyes dark, and leans closer. “I’m here because I miss you.”
A sharp frisson of desire shoots through me. For this man. For what he represents. For the possessiveness and protectiveness that make my chest ache.
Before I can even think, he pulls me close. I sink into him, exhausted, overwhelmed, drawn to the safety of his arms.
“I was scared shitless when I went to our room and you weren’t there. I almost ran mad before a guard told me where to find you. I won’t lose you, Raelyn,” he whispers, voice low, steady.
“I don’t want to be lost,” I murmur back, voice barely audible.
Our bodies press together, heat building in the quiet dusk. His hand slides up my spine, fingers threading into my hair. My breath hitches, heartbeat racing. For a fleeting moment, the danger outside fades—doesn’t exist at all.
I lift my face to him, a silent invitation, and something in his control shatters.
He kisses me—hard, deep, claiming me with a need that borders on desperation, as if he must know I’m alive and in his arms. I melt into him, responding with equal hunger. His hands grip my waist, drawing me flush against him. Our breaths come ragged, hearts hammering, and the world narrows until it’s just us—danger, fear, and obsession falling away in the heat of our need.
He pulls back just enough to look at me, eyes dark, heavy with something I can’t name: need, possession, obsession. It’s terrifying. It’s intoxicating. It’s all-consuming.
“Take me inside,” I whisper, voice trembling, raw.
He doesn’t hesitate. Not for a second. His hands are firm on my waist, his lips brushing my temple as he guides me through the door. The world outside—the threats, the danger,the chaos—falls away completely. In that moment, there’s only him, only us, only this fire that refuses to be tamed.
Chapter 18 – Konstantin
I carry Raelyn into the bedroom like she’s both sacred and dangerous, something I need to protect and consume all at once. Her fingers clutch at my shirt, nails digging in, body trembling—not with fear, but with need. I close the door behind us, and something inside me snaps cleanly, fully, into a darker, uncontrollable place.
The kiss starts slowly, almost tasting the tension, then turns feral. My hands roam over her body, hungry, claiming. Every inch of her answers me in kind. She gasps into my mouth, shivers pressing into my chest, and I lift her onto the bed, tilting her, claiming her like I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life.
There’s no gentleness. No caution. Nothing but raw, molten obsession made physical—our bodies colliding, heat and hunger blending into one unstoppable force. Every kiss, every touch, every shudder is mine to take, hers to surrender.
I growl low in my throat, lips and teeth and hands tracing, claiming, marking, needing. The world outside ceases to exist. There’s only us—fire, hunger, obsession—and the dangerous, sweet surrender of finally being together in this way.