Page 180 of Celestial Combat

Still, I leaned in. Kissed his cheek, and whispered, “I need to go. I love you. I’ll see you later.”

I shifted again, slowly slipping one leg out from under the duvet and easing the sheet down from my body. My bikini from yesterday was lost somewhere on the floor, discarded without thought. I spotted it by the chair near the window, shimmer catching the sunlight.

I needed to be fast. Return to my suite before the girls noticed I was missing. And if Trevor saw me–

Before I could stand, the strong arm around my waist tightened and pulled me straight back into the bed with a quiet grunt.

“Zane,” I gasped, breathless, as I landed against his chest again.

“No…” he murmured into my hair, voice rough and low with sleep. “Too early…”

I let out a soft laugh. “It’s not early, it’slate. I have to sneak back before someone–”

He only tightened his grip, pulling me closer, flush to him now. His skin was warm, smooth muscle and strength under my hands. “Five more minutes.”

“We’ll get caught,” I whispered, trying not to smile.

“You’re worth it,” he murmured, pressing the softest kiss to my shoulder.

My heart stuttered.

And when he leaned in to kiss my lips, I was already waiting for him to part my legs with his strong body.

Outside, the Hawaiian morning was already in full bloom – sunlight blazing gold across the blue sky, casting streaks of light through the white curtains that danced gently in the breeze. But here, in this bed, in his arms, the rest of the world felt impossibly far away.

I sighed, melting into him for just a little while longer.

After managing to get out of Zane’s hold, sneak out without being caught, and pass the day without anyone noticing the both of us were missing, we were now all out at dinner.

The private dining room at Nobu was warm with laughter, the clink of glasses, and the casual rhythm of chopsticks against ceramic. Soft light danced off the black lacquer table, and somewhere under the relaxed hum of conversation, low music played.

I lounged back into the plush leather of my chair, chopsticks in one hand as I enjoyed my sushi.

Zane’s arm was slung casually over the back of my seat. That surprised me. One, because he’d never been so bold. And two, because no one seemed to care?

I assumed they just thought he was more comfortable that way or something.

So, I just pretended like I didn’t care either and secretly enjoyed every time my back brushed his strong forearm.

To my other side, Maria was curled comfortably into Zach’s side, while across from us, Natalia was enjoying her food.

Across from us,Natalia was enjoying her food, stealing bits off Trevor’s plate.

Francesca was halfway through her second glass of wine, which seemed to make her more susceptible to Matteo’s charm. She hadn’t threatened to kill him at all in the past hour. Even smirked at one of his jokes.

Matteo, next to her, was leaning back with his sleeves rolled up, chatting lazily with Gìo about some ridiculous near-death situation they got into in Vegas like twelve years ago, while Tony laughed and was on the edge of his seat, obviously jealous he hadn’t been there at eight years old.

“Alright,” Trevor said with a half-laugh. “Let’s talk about the Bratva thing before we get too drunk to care.”

Francesca raised her glass. “About time. I was starting to think we were pretending they didn’t blow up half our port.”

“Pier 42,” Gìo chimed in, shifting slightly to grab a roll. “Bratva hit both our shipments and the Sus’. That’s coordinated.”

“Not their first swing,” Natalia added, as Trevor poured her a glass of water. “But definitely their sloppiest. We’ve all been hit before – this wasn’t exactly a power move. Felt desperate. Didn’t they all die?”

“Zane and a couple of our soldiers shot them all dead,” I supplied.

My brother’s gaze finally landed across the table, on me and Zane.