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"Even if it costs you everything?"
"Especially then."
When she kissed me, it was with the fierce urgency of someone who'd almost lost something precious. I responded with equal desperation, pouring every word I couldn't say into the touch of my lips against hers.
This kiss was different from our first—rawer, needier, tinged with the knowledge of how easily it could all disappear. Her hands fisted in my shirt, holding me close as if I might vanish if she let go.
My hands shook as I touched her face, still hardly believing she was letting me this close after everything.
"Edward," she whispered against my mouth, and the way she said my name—like a prayer, like a promise—nearly undid me completely.
"Tell me what you need," I murmured, trailing kisses along her jaw.
"You. Just you."
The words broke something fundamental in my chest. All the careful control I'd maintained crumbled in the face of her simple honesty.
"Not here," I said, glancing around the public alcove.
"Your room?"
"My room."
Each step through the manor's corridors felt like walking away from the man I'd been and toward someone I didn't yet know how to be. The weight of portraits—generations of Grosvenors who'd chosen duty over desire—seemed to press down on my shoulders. But with Lili's hand in mine, their disapproval felt like a small price to pay for this moment of absolute clarity.
The walk through the manor felt endless, each step echoing in the vast, dimly lit corridors. Every shadow seemed to stretch longer than the last, and every corner whispered the possibility of interruption.
But somehow, we made it to my chambers without encountering another soul. It was as if the house itself was conspiring to give us this moment, this stolen fragment of time where the world outside ceased to exist.
Lili’s hand brushed against mine as we turned the final corner, her touch electric even through the thin fabric of her glove. I felt the weight of her gaze on me, though I didn’t darelook at her. Not yet. The air was thick with unspoken words, with the tension of what we both knew was about to happen.
When the door to my chambers finally closed behind us, the world narrowed to just this—her hands on my chest, my mouth on her throat, the soft sounds she made when I found that sensitive spot beneath her ear. Her skin was warm, her scent intoxicating, a mix of jasmine and vanilla. I could feel her heartbeat beneath my palms, steady yet quickened, mirroring my own.
“Are you certain?”I asked, pulling back just enough to search her eyes. The question wasn’t just about this moment, but about everything it implied. About the risks, the consequences, the way our lives were tangled in a web neither of us could fully untangle.
Lili’s smile was soft, vulnerable, and absolutely devastating.“I’ve never been more certain of anything,”she whispered, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands as they rested on my shoulders.“Show me what real feels like.”
Her words were a challenge, a plea, and a promise all at once.
They hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning. I didn’t know if I could give her what she was asking for—what she deserved—but I knew I had to try.
“Let me see you,”she murmured, her breath warm against my neck.“All of you.”
I closed my eyes, letting her hands guide me.Her touch was a balm, a reminder that I wasn’t alone in this. That maybe, just maybe, I didn’t have to carry it all by myself anymore.
When I kissed her, it was with the desperate hunger of someone who’d been starving without knowing it. My lips pressed against hers, demanding and tender all at once. She met me with equal fervor, her hands tangling in my hair, pulling me closer as if she could erase the distance between us.
Her taste was addictive, a mix of sweetness and something darker, something that spoke to the depths of her soul. I kissedher deeper, my hands roaming over her body, memorizing every curve, every dip, every place where her skin met mine.
She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching mine, as if asking for permission to go further. I nodded, my breath ragged, and she smiled, a smile that held both triumph and surrender.
Her hands moved to my jacket, unbuttoning it slowly, deliberately. I let her take the lead, watching as she slid it off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor.
Her fingers trailed down my chest, pausing at the scars that marred my skin, the reminders of battles fought and won, of losses endured.
“You’re beautiful,”she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
I almost laughed at that, but the sound caught in my throat. Beautiful wasn’t a word I’d ever associated with myself.