Page 102 of Forbidden Empire

"Ready for war?" I asked, cupping her cheek like I needed her to know I was right there, that I wasn't going anywhere.

"With you? Always," she answered, not even blinking, just leaning into my touch and letting me in.

I yanked her closer, arms circling, desperate and all-consuming.

For the first time, it hit me, raw and real, just how much I needed her, how I couldn't stand the thought of letting this woman go—not now, not ever.

Twenty-One

ESME

From Aidon’s penthouse, the view stretched down the entire Strip, glittering and endless. If I narrowed my eyes and leaned just right, I caught the garish, leering faces of the clowns on the Circus Circus sign, all the way at the far end. But the Strip at night was something else.

Gone were the tourists darting for shade, desperate to escape the sun’s relentless glare. Now they spilled in waves onto the neon-soaked street, stumbling and shouting, high on too much alcohol and the thrill of being somewhere they’d seen in movies.

The women wore sequined dresses so tight they shimmered like scales, clinging to every curve. The men strutted in shirts loud enough to stop traffic, their arms draped around each other, sloshing oversized drinks.

Under the pulsing lights, the scene was electric, feverish, almost hypnotic. I wondered what it felt like to experience Vegas as a visitor. To not know what lurked behind the glitz, or the power games that kept the city alive.

They were clueless. They had no idea that everything was about to change.

I hugged myself, drawing in a shaky breath as the tension coiled deeper in my gut. Aidon hadn’t tried to talk me out of it again, but I knew better than to trust the calm.

The closer we got to go-time, the more my anxiety twisted and sharpened. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to stop me at the last possible second.

But my determination burned hotter than his stubbornness, hotter than anything he could throw at me. No way was I going to let him stand in my way.

My muscles still ached from our last fight, and the memories kept looping in my mind like some broken record.

Rhea’s army was no joke. They’d put everything on the line to stop us from getting to her. One wrong move, and any of us could end up seriously hurt or worse.

The thought of Aidon getting hurt made my skin crawl.

I hated it. We were getting closer, whether we liked it or not, even if both of us seemed hellbent on pretending otherwise.

The push and pull, the constant friction, it was driving me insane. I couldn’t settle, couldn’t breathe right.

Yes, I knew I was part of the problem. Maybe the biggest part. It was like self-inflicted torture, and I just kept coming back for more.

If I wanted it to end, I could walk away. Nothing was stopping me. No one was holding me hostage. I’d had more than enough chances to pack up and disappear for good.

"You're not going to disappear on me again."

I hadn't heard Aidon approach, but his words sliced through my thoughts like he'd been eavesdropping inside my skull. My spine stiffened. The space between us felt too small, too charged.

I turned to face him, stalling with a deliberate exhale.

"Every instinct I have is screaming at me to run," I said, the confession tasting strange on my tongue.

His lips curved upward, predatory and pleased. He crossed the distance between us with measured steps, his fingers finding my jaw and tilting my face until I had nowhere to look but into those eyes that saw too much.

“So, stop thinking,” I felt his words, soft and low, settle over me.

Simple enough, but it landed like a gentle touch, smoothing out the roughness in my head.

Then his mouth found mine.

Slow, sure, a little desperate. Not like before. Nothing rushed.