After dinner with the babies, Alina stayed beside their small warm bodies until both of them drifted off, their tiny breaths soft and steady against their pillows. She brushed their hair one last ti, whispered good night, and quietly stepped out of the room, closing the door with the gentlest click.
Dante was leaning against the hallway wall, arms folded, the dim light catching the edges of his sharp features. He looked up the mont she appeared, and sothing warm flickered in his eyes.
"Will you stay with for a few days too?" Alina asked softly as she walked toward him, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her sleeve. "And babies too... for the holiday?" Her voice carried a hopeful tone.
"Actually," Dante said, slow and thoughtful, "you can have Sable and Lucien with you for the whole holiday."
Alina’s eyes lit up instantly, sparkling as if she had been handed a small miracle, and he found himself staring again, entranced by how openly she showed happiness.
But then he continued, and her excitent dimd.
"And if your aunt or family doesn’t mind, I can stay there for a few days as well," he added. "But next week I have to leave for a eting."
The happiness she felt a second ago shrank into a small ache. "So... you will leave afterward?" she asked in a small voice.
"Yeah," he sighed, looking at her gently. "For a short while."
She hesitated, her brows pulling together. "You’re not taking Sable or Lucien with you?"
"No." His tone fird with quiet protectiveness. "The climate there is harsh. I don’t want to take you or the babies. And because of that climate, there are actually no won or children there at all. It’s not a place for you three."
Alina blinked in surprise, almost horrified. "What kind of climate is that? That sounds scary. But... you’re going there alone? Isn’t it dangerous for you?"
He gave a soft laugh, not arrogant but deeply confident, like soone who had already survived the worst storms. "No. I have experience. I travel there four to five tis a year. And I’m rougher than I look."
Alina looked at him for a long mont, taking in his calm posture, the faint shadows swirling behind him like loyal guardians, the certainty in his eyes. She nodded slowly, a smile tugging at her lips despite the worry lingering inside her.
"Indeed..." she murmured, her voice warm and fond as she leaned a little closer to him, "you are."
His expression changed the mont she leaned closer, the mont her soft scent brushed past him like warm air. Sothing in his eyes deepened, turning darker and more focused, as if every instinct he had sharpened at once.
"Lina..." he murmured, the na rolling off his tongue with a tenderness she was still getting used to.
She blinked up at him, surprised by the sudden gravity in his voice as he took a slow step forward. She instinctively backed up, her breath catching, until her back t the cool wall behind her. The faint thud echoed softly, and before she could even process it, his arm ca up beside her head, caging her gently in the warm space of his presence.
The world felt small, small in the way that made her heart flutter.
He leaned down, his eyes fixed on hers with such deep focus that she forgot how to breathe for a mont. The crimson in his gaze looked richer and softer, as if her reflection alone was changing the way his heart beat.
"Did I say how beautiful you are?" he asked quietly, and she shook her head, cheeks already heating as she avoided his gaze.
He didn’t let her. His fingers found her wrist, warm and steady, and he guided her hand up until it rested on his chest, right where his heartbeat thumped beneath her palm, strong and fast and almost restless.
"You’re so beautiful," he whispered, his lips brushing her jaw in the lightest, most reverent way. "So beautiful that my heart..." he paused, pressing her hand more firmly against his chest, as if wanting her to feel every wild beat, "...my heart becos crazy. It wants to co out just to see the person responsible for making it lose control."
Her breath trembled softly as she looked up at him, eyes widening, overwheld by the rawness of his words.
"It’s love... how you make it feel," he said, his voice rough with sincerity.
Alina’s heart swelled painfully and beautifully in her chest. No one had ever held her like this, looked at her like this, spoken to her as if every emotion inside him existed because of her. For a mont she could only stand there against the wall, warm and speechless, feeling the gentle pressure of his hand over hers, feeling his breath ghost along her skin, feeling her entire world shift into sothing softer and sweeter than she ever imagined she would get to experience.
No one had ever made her feel like this. No one had ever made her feel chosen, treasured, wanted so deeply.
"Let kiss you," he murmured, his voice low and rough with emotion.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and before she could prepare herself, his lips t hers softly yet fiercely. His hand cupped her cheek with a possessive gentleness, fingers spreading across her skin as if he wanted to morize the shape of her face. His other arm tightened around her waist, pulling her into him until she felt his breath lt into her own.
The kiss was deep and consuming, filled with all the feelings he had been holding back, like he needed her closer, needed her touch, needed the warmth of her breath to calm the storm inside him. His mouth moved against hers with slow but undeniable hunger, each kiss deeper and warr, stealing her breath until she clutched the fabric of his attire just to steady herself.
Her back pressed against the wall as his body leaned into her, firm and protective at the sa ti. She felt the strength of him, the heat of him, the way his chest rose sharply when she kissed him back.
His thumb brushed her lower lip when he finally pulled away, only half an inch, both of them breathing hard, hearts thundering in their ribs.
Her lips were swollen, her cheeks warm, her breathing unsteady.
He looked at her as if she were the only thing that existed.
"Lina," he whispered, his forehead resting against hers, his breath mingling with hers. "You make lose my mind."
And the way she looked back at him, dazed, breathless, glowing, told him she felt it too.
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