Page 21

“Alex,” she whispered, the name trembling on her lips, a plea wrapped in wonder.

The way his fingers skimmed her sides, feather-light but deliberate, made her entire frame come alive, like the night itself conspired to amplify every sensation.

He lowered her gently onto the makeshift bed of borrowed clothes, his movements slow, reverent, as though he was laying an entire kingdom with castles at her feet.

With him, she felt like a princess in fairy tales, free to love and feel.

The moment demanded nothing less than unspoken devotion.

Every brush of his lips against her skin felt like a vow, the steady rhythm of his breath against her collarbone like a promise only they could share.

She arched under him, her body answering his touch instinctively, offering itself to the pull of something far greater than them both.

And yet, in Alex’s hands, she felt safe, cherished—as though he was not merely unraveling her, but stitching together every piece that had longed to be seen.

“You’re perfect,” he murmured, his voice rough, laden with awe, and it sent a flush rolling over her skin.

Her hand reached up, tangling in his hair to pull him closer, the tenderness mingling with a hunger that felt as inevitable as the tide.

A soft laugh escaped her, breathless and light, as her lips traced along the curve of his jaw.

“You keep looking at me like that,” she whispered, “and you’ll ruin me. ”

Alex’s answering smile was soft but laced with fire, his gaze holding hers as though he’d never look away again.

“Ruin you?” he echoed, the words rumbling in his chest as his hands slid lower, memorizing her, worshiping her.

“Sera…” His voice dipped, his lips brushing over her ear until she shivered beneath him, warm and undone. “I only want to make you whole.”

Her legs wrapped around him as if to pull him closer, deeper. “Please, Alex,” she whispered, her voice trembling but unyielding. “Do it.”

“I’ll make you mine.”

“And we will find a way to be together in London.”

“In London.”

He stood up. The whisper of fabric sliding to the ground sent a ripple through the air, a quiet sound that roared like thunder in Sera’s chest. She watched Alex stand before her, his movements unhurried, deliberate, as his hands worked to untie his breeches.

The flickering candlelight cast shadows along his frame, emphasizing the taut strength of his body and the quiet grace that seemed woven into him.

When the last barrier fell away and for a moment, she forgot to exhale.

He was raw and beautiful, his every muscle carved with precision, as if sculpted by the sea and wind itself.

But it wasn’t just his form—it was him, Alex, standing there vulnerable, bold, and impossibly hers. And then he climbed back over her.

Her hands moved before her thoughts caught up, drawn to him as if by instinct.

Her fingers trembled as they brushed over his chest, tracing the ridges of muscle with reverence, as though he were something sacred.

His warmth seeped into her palms, a living heat that tethered her to the moment, grounding her even as it set her alight.

She explored the powerful lines of his arms, the curve of his shoulders, the sturdy breadth of his chest—mapping him with a sense of wonder she’d never known she could feel.

When her touch skimmed lower, down the ridges of his abdomen, his breath shuddered beneath her fingertips, and the sound sent a thrill racing down her spine.

She looked up, meeting his gaze, and her heart stuttered.

His eyes, those stormy, unrelenting eyes, pinned her in place—not with demand, but with a depth of care so profound it made her ache.

“You’re… perfect, too,” she whispered, her voice breaking with emotion, as if the words themselves couldn’t fully capture what she was seeing, feeling.

Alex’s lips curled into the faintest smile, soft and private, only for her.

Then he knelt, his hands brushing her sides, steadying her as though she was something to be cradled even in her fierceness.

She held his arms, anchoring herself as his lips found hers, tender and deliberate, stealing her breath while giving it back all at once.

Time stretched impossibly thin, and when Alex finally shifted, positioning himself over her, the world contracted until it was just the two of them.

Her senses sharpened—the sound of his breath mingling with hers, the feel of his fingertips brushing her cheek, the weight of his body so near to hers it felt as natural as breathing.

Then, he moved, slowly and deliberately, and her body welcomed him like a tide rising to the moon. A tremble rippled through her, an aching, searing pleasure that felt both foreign and inevitable, like it had always been waiting for this moment. She stilled.

“Does it hurt?”

She narrowed her brows but didn’t have the words to answer. He was pressing inside her and she wanted to take him. “I’ve never…”

“Me neither.”

Their bodies were truly one and the world became a symphony of sensations—the heat of his skin, the subtle musk of salt and firelight, the way his every breath seemed to reverberate through her.

Soon, he moved, and she moved with him, finding a rhythm as timeless as the waves beyond.

Each touch, each sound, was a wordless conversation, an exchange of promises neither of them could ever take back.

Sera arched into him, her body singing with unrestrained want, but more than that—with trust, with love.

She held him tighter, her hands tangling in his hair, her lips brushing along his jaw between breaths.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, even though every thrust only became harder.

His touch was steady and unyielding, yet also gentle at the same time.

It wasn’t just passion; it was care, devotion wrapped in every motion.

She closed her eyes, surrendering to the storm, letting herself become part of something infinitely bigger and brighter than herself.

In Alex’s arms, as they moved as one, she felt whole in a way she hadn’t known was possible.

There was no going back to Sera from before.