Sweet Hatred Chapter 340: Dance

"Oh... " she started, then laughed, but it sounded thin. "I was joking, okay? Don’t... don’t look at like that."

Like what, I wanted to ask. Like I’d already tasted the thing she’d nad and wanted more. Instead I stepped closer, my hand still straining with the weight of the bags. I reached out and, before reason could tell not to, I cupped her jaw with two fingers and pulled her nearer until we were close enough that the crowd fell away again.

"Say it again," I said, hardly more than a breath. My voice had that rough edge to it... the one that made her freeze. "Say it like you an it."

She blinked, horror and mischief warring across her face. Then, because she was who she was, because she always dared in the smallest, most dangerous ways, she smiled and whispered, "Husband?"

It sounded different this ti. Not a tease. Not armor. Just her... soft, exhausted, bewilderingly real. The market seed to exhale.

My laugh ca out nothing like humor. I crushed my forehead to hers, barely touching, and the heat of her startled breath steadied the ache in my chest.

"Good," I said, the word a promise and a warning. "Because I intend to keep you."

Aria teased again about being dramatic, tugging away from the shawl stall as I carried her growing collection of trinkets. I didn’t even try to fight it; I followed her truly like a trained dog on a leash, hands full of bags and yet still feeling absurdly proud of myself.

We stopped at a few more stalls... jewelry that caught her eye, candied almonds dusted in sugar, little clay figurines painted in bright colors. Eventually, I spotted a bench under a line of hanging lanterns and guided her to sit, setting the bags at my feet.

"Sit properly," I muttered, nudging her when she slouched, brushing invisible dust off the bench before she touched it, adjusting the angle of the bags so her legs wouldn’t bump them.

She rolled her eyes at . "Kael, stop. You’re fussing like so overbearing... "

"... Husband," I supplied, dead serious.

Her mouth twitched, but before she could fire back, a swell of sound filled the square. Live guitar strumd sharp and warm, hands clapped to a quick rhythm, voices rose in playful call and response.

People had already taken the open space, skirts spinning, hands clasping, shoes tapping on the cobblestone in patterns I didn’t recognize.

Aria’s eyes lit up, and then two children ran toward us, tugging at her hand and chattering excitedly in Spanish. I caught only fragnts... ven, ven, bailar... but I didn’t need a translation. They wanted us in.

Aria didn’t hesitate. She laughed, rose to her feet, and let them lead her away. I sighed, set our bags down, and gestured subtly to Niko in the shadows. He moved closer, always watchful, and I stepped after her.

The circle welcod us instantly. Aria tried to copy the steps... turn, clap, twist... and failed miserably. She laughed until her shoulders shook, then stumbled right into . I caught her, arms around her waist, and instead of trying again she just lted against my chest, still swaying with the music.

Her cheek pressed against , her hair brushing my jaw, and I tightened my hold. We didn’t need to dance like the others. Just moving together, her heartbeat under my hand, was enough.

"I think I’ve used all my energy for the month or year maybe," she sighed, voice muffled against .

I lowered my head, lips brushing her hair. "Then we should leave."

She shook her head stubbornly. "No. I don’t want to. I’m having too much fun. It’s like... everything feels too good to be true. I don’t want it to end."

Her words cracked sothing in . I pulled back just enough to cup her face, forcing her to look at . Lantern-light shimred in her eyes, teary and raw, and my chest tightened painfully. I wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt.

But before I could, the sa kids burst back into the circle, darting around us, tugging at Aria again. She laughed, bent to scoop one up, spinning him around as the others clapped and danced around her.

I stood still, heart full, watching her glow in the middle of it all... my woman, alive, laughing, beautiful beyond reason.

And I thought, selfishly, ruthlessly: mine.

Aria waved goodbye to the kids, pressing so candied almonds and sugared figs into their little palms before they darted off, squealing with delight. She was still flushed from dancing, cheeks glowing, her smile wide as we slipped out of the square and back into the winding streets where our ride was waiting for us.

I had all her bags looped over one arm, the weight of them nothing compared to the way I couldn’t stop glancing at her. She looked alive tonight, and I wanted to sear that image into my mind.

... and then suddenly, she stumbled.

At first, I thought she’d tripped. But when I caught her, her body leaned heavier than it should’ve, her skin too hot under my touch.

"Aria." My voice ca out rough, sharper than I ant.

"I’m fine," she murmured, forcing a smile as if that could disguise the way her knees buckled.

"No, you’re not." I didn’t give her a chance to argue. I swept her off her feet, her bags forgotten in one hand, her body locked against my chest.

She wriggled weakly. "Kael, put down. People are staring... "

"I don’t give a damn." My palm pressed to her back, and the fever radiating off her made my stomach turn cold.

By the ti we reached the villa, her head had dropped to my shoulder. Her heat was worse... boiling under my skin, seeping straight into my fear.

"Damon!" My voice cracked like a whip at the head guard the second the door opened. "Call Dr. Álvarez. Now."

The man didn’t hesitate. He was gone before I’d finished climbing the stairs with her in my arms.

She stirred faintly, her voice small against my throat. "Kael... you’re overreacting. I told you, I’m fine."

"You’re burning up." My tone was harsher than intended, threaded with sothing closer to begging. "I don’t care what you say, I’m not taking chances."

She blinked up at as I laid her down on the bed, her amber eyes catching mine with a softness that gutted . "You’re talking like I might slip away from you."

My hands froze against the sheets. My chest locked, a sharp, hollow pain tearing open inside . Because that was exactly it. That was exactly it.

Ivan. His blood on my hands. The silence after. The empty place that never closed.

I couldn’t force a word past my throat. My jaw clenched, my silence betraying .

Her hand lifted, trembling, but steady enough to hold my face. She pulled down until I had no choice but to et her eyes.

"I’m not going anywhere," she whispered, her thumb brushing my cheekbone. "Not from you."

I swallowed hard. My chest was tight, too tight, like her words were breaking sothing open inside .

I pressed my forehead against hers, feeling the heat of her fever burn into . I didn’t care. "Then don’t," I rasped. "Don’t you dare."

Her palm stayed against my cheek, warm and trembling, and I knew it wasn’t just a fever... it was her. My Aria. Fragile in ways she never let the world see.

I should’ve let go. I should’ve prepared the room, found water, called Niko again to hurry the doctor... but my body wouldn’t move. I stayed where she anchored , forehead to forehead, her breaths shallow but steady.

When she shifted, trying to sit up, I hushed her and reached for the hem of her clothes. "You’re burning up in this. Let ... "

She didn’t argue this ti, only watched with heavy-lidded eyes as I eased her out of the dress and replaced it with the soft cotton shirt I’d left folded on the chair earlier. One of mine. Too big, swallowing her fra. But she looked... right in it. Like she belonged Nowhere else.

I pulled the blankets over her, then sat on the edge of the bed and gathered her against , her head tucked under my chin. My arms locked tight around her, because the thought of letting go, even to grab a glass of water, made sothing inside recoil.

"Kael," she whispered against my chest.

I kissed the crown of her damp hair. "Don’t talk. Just stay."

And I ant it... stay in my arms, stay here, stay alive.

The knock at the door ca too soon. Firm. Controlled.

I didn’t move. My jaw tightened as the knock ca again, softer this ti, respectful.

"Sir," Niko’s muffled voice followed. "The doctor’s here."

Aria stirred faintly at the sound, but I only pulled her closer, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in like I could fuse her into .

Not yet. Not yet.

Another knock.

"Sir?"

"I heard you," I growled, but didn’t let go. My grip only tightened, my heart hamring like they were asking to hand her over.

Her fingers brushed my shirt weakly, a small nudge against my ribs. "Kael..."

I looked down. Even fevered, she gave that soft, stubborn look that always undid . "Let him in," she whispered.

For a mont, I considered ignoring her. Pretending I hadn’t heard. But the weight in her voice... the trust.

I kissed her hair again, then forced myself to ease her back against the pillows, every part of protesting. My hand lingered at her jaw, my thumb brushing her cheek as if to remind her I wasn’t leaving.

Then, with a final glance at her flushed face, I called hoarsely, "Co in."