Page 56 of Love Me in the Dark

“Very well,” the waiter replies, disappearing with our orders.

“White wine?” Alina questions, her eyebrows raised. “I thought red would be better with steak.”

“Normally, yes,” I respond, a knowing smirk playing on my lips. “But I’m aware that you haven’t touched red wine since your mom passed away from cancer.” The brief flicker of surprise in her eyes tells me that she’s both impressed and unnerved by my knowledge of her personal life.

When the food arrives, I gesture for Alina to sit on my lap. She hesitates for a moment, but ultimately complies, the heat of her body igniting a fire within me. With each bite I feed her,our fingers brush against one another, the touch electric and intoxicating.

“Rafe,” she murmurs, her voice soft and breathless as she swallows another morsel of steak. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I want to feed you,” I confess, my voice a low growl in her ear. Her breath hitches, and for a moment, the world falls away.

“I just didn’t realize you cared so much about me,” she deadpans.

“Call it a vested interest,” I reply cryptically while I continue to feed her, not stopping until both our plates are empty.

“Vested interest,” she scoffs. “More like a twisted obsession.”

“Perhaps,” I allow as I lean forward, kissing her shoulder. “I really don’t give a fuck what you call it.”

She wiggles in my lap. “Let me sit down on my seat,” she whispers.

“No,” I reply.

“But I want to see you when I’m talking to you,” she whines.

I move her so she’s sitting sideways. “Better?”

She huffs but doesn’t try to move again. “Tell me, Rafe,” she demands, leaning closer, her voice low and venomous as her breath fans across my cheek. “How long are youreallyplanning on keeping me?”

“Until I have what I want,” I respond, my own voice equally quiet.

“And what is it that you want, exactly?” Her hazel eyes pierce through me.

“Isn’t it obvious?” I counter, smirking. “You.”

“For a week,” she says. “Right?”

I shrug. “For starters.”

Our conversation halts as the waiter returns to clear our plates, momentarily breaking the spell we’ve woven aroundourselves. In the charged silence that follows, I can feel the pull between us growing stronger, magnetic in its intensity.

“Shall we go?” I ask, rising from the booth and offering her my hand.

“Fine,” she concedes, placing her delicate fingers in my grasp.

As we get nearer to the exit, Alina wants to use the restroom just as I spot one of my cousins near the bar. I tell her I’ll wait there and hurry up. Then I slap her ass as she turns to leave me. The windows in the bathroom have bars on them, making it impossible to use them as an exit, so I don’t follow her.

6

Rafe

Alow growl rumbles in my chest as I lean against the bar, my gaze fixed on the narrow hallway leading to the bathrooms. Some bastard is leaning too close to Alina, his body language unmistakable. My hands curl into fists at my sides, the rage building within me like a storm.

Then I recognize him—her ex’s brother. She thinks the guy left town after he slapped her around, but the truth is far uglier. He squealed like a pig under my blade before I had him fed to actual pigs. The only reason she doesn’t know is because she doesn’t need to.

“Stay here,” I mutter to my cousin, my jaw tight as I begin my approach.

Each step I take toward them is deliberate, my presence cutting through the room like a blade. The air grows heavier as people instinctively sense the danger radiating off me. I reach them, and the bastard’s hands on her waist are all I see.