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“The fish is gonna slip away, you know.”
Everything in me crashes to a stop. The net falls from my hand into the water, the Flammula seizing its chance to escape, but it doesn’t matter; nothing does.
Because I never thought I would hear his voice again.
“Well, that’s a shame; it was a good catch.” A lighthearted tut-tut. “Reddie could’ve had a friend.”
Finally, I turn around.
Past and present collide. His arms crossed, Rafayel stands there in the glow of the sun. It’s just like when we first met; like when he was nothing more than a stranger.
“Rafayel,” I whisper.
My heart thrashes in my chest. It’s as if nothing ever happened to him. As if I didn’t force him to leave. As if he wasn’t torn away from me.
“What’s with the face, cutie?” Rafayel teases. “You look like a fish with that expression.”
Jerked from my stupor, I blink. “It’s really you?” I ask desperately.
“Yeah, the real deal.” Smiling, he holds out his arms. “Why don’t you come closer and see for yourself?”
Choking on tears, I stumble forward, faster and faster until I’m running. “Rafayel!”
I throw my arms around his neck, and just like always, his own are there to catch me, pulling me into an embrace that is so warm and firm and - and -
Real.
“I thought you were gone,” I sob in his ear. The smell of the ocean crashes over me, and I exhale raggedly, clutching frantically at his shirt. “I thought I’d never see you again -”
“Shh, cutie, it’s okay.” Rafayel holds me tighter, one of his hands running up and down my back soothingly. He rests his chin on my shoulder and nuzzles against my ear. “I kept my promise, didn’t I?”
It only makes me cry harder, clinging to him with a fierceness I cannot control; that pours forth from every part of my being that’s had to suffer in his absence. “I - how are you even here?”
Rafayel shrugs against me. “I just washed up on the shore,” he says. “I’m still tryna remember what happened. It’s all kind of a blur.”
I don’t know how much of the truth he’s telling me, but I don’t care. Maybe he still has his own experiences to make peace with. “Just … don’t do that to me again,” I beg. “Sea God or not. Please.”
Rafayel pulls back to look at me then, smiling at me with a gentle honesty. “Okay.”
Suddenly, he pinches my face, making me yelp. “Hey!”
“That’s what you get for sending me away against my will,” Rafayel teases. A beat. “This payback isn’t too harsh, yeah?”
I sniffle, my eyes - and my cheek - still stinging. “It’s a little mean,” I mumble, “but since you’re not old or a five-thousand-year-old fish, I’ll let it slide.”
Rafayel laughs, and it’s the most beautiful sound in the whole world. “You were worried about that, huh?” He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Don’t you have something else to say to me, cutie?”
My mouth crashes against Rafayel’s in a messy press of lips.
He makes a startled noise, and I immediately realise what I’m doing. I frantically pull back to find Rafayel staring at me, slack-jawed.
I know I’ve overstepped. Horrifically.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
Snapping his mouth shut, Rafayel clears his throat, his cheeks flushing. “Don’t be. Please.”
He reaches for my hand instead, intertwining our fingers and holding on tight. I start to shake again, remembering his hand slipping through my grasp like sea foam.
“On an ordinary weekend, an idle afternoon, or a meaningless, normal day … If you want to see me again, you’ll have to wait a very, very long time.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Rafayel murmurs again, moving his other hand to brush my new tears away. “I’m here now.”
“I know.” I smile shakily. “It’s just …”
“Just?” Rafayel prompts.
Swallowing thickly, I take his face in my hands and stand on tiptoe to plant a single, sweet kiss to his forehead instead. “I caught a glimpse of a world without you in it, Rafayel,” I whisper. “And it was so grey, and dismal, and lifeless. I never want to feel that again. Not as long as I live.”
Rafayel inhales sharply.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat weakly.
His eyes softening, he reaches up and places his hands over mine again, carefully intertwining them and drawing them away from his face.
“Let’s go somewhere,” Rafayel murmurs. “Just the two of us.”
“My place, or yours?” I ask.
“Potato, potahto. But mine’s closer.” Mischief flashes in his eyes as he brings our joint hands to my pocket and deftly fishes out my keys. “I’ll drive.”
o-o-o-o-o
“Wowee,” Rafayel remarks with a low whistle, looking about his studio. “You and Thomas sure didn’t waste any time.”
I shrug as casually as I can, pushing the door shut and kicking my shoes off. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know if you were ever going to—hmph!”
Grabbing my arms, Rafayel suddenly spins me around and kisses me.
Fire erupts. I melt into him, clutching at his neck as my back hits the door. The captivating scent of the ocean is everywhere, my heartbeat roaring in my ears like the crashing of waves.
“You assumed - hmph - I wouldn’t come back?” Rafayel growls, his desperate expression aglow in the dying orange of the sunset. “Well, you’re wrong.”
He kisses me harder. My hands are in his hair, holding on tight; Rafayel responds in kind, the power of the sea surging in his touch, and I willingly drown.
Rafayel groans suddenly, the sound deep in his throat. “Wanted - to do this - for so long,” he gasps between kisses.
He - I - “Why didn’t you?” I demand. “I thought -!”
His mouth is on my own again, my skin ablaze where his hands run over my body, leaving trails of fire across my hips, my waist, my spine.
“Let me remind you that you didn’t kiss me until after I came back.” A coy smile. “I believe the pot is calling the kettle black, hmm?”
Oh, the nerve! “If this - is to do with - employment contracts,” I mutter as he moves to my neck, his hot breath hitting my collarbone and making me weak in the knees, “I’m gonna throw you back in the ocean.”
Kissing his newest love mark, Rafayel pulls back and grins at me, his expression devilish. “Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” he coos. “This little fishie already knows how to swim.”
He effortlessly hoists me up onto his waist, and I stare down at him with the fiercest expression I can muster. “I’m a professionally trained hunter,” I remind him. “Both armed and dangerous.”
“Wow, I’m sooo scared. I thought I hired a bodyguard, not a personal assassin.” He presses me back against the wall again. “Admit it,” he whispers. “You were running away from your feelings.”
“And you weren’t?” I retort.
“Oh, cutie.” Rafayel leans in close. “I was never hiding them.”
“So what were you waiting for? Newdawn Day?”
Rafayel rolls his eyes. “You, slowpoke.”
I tug on the hair at the back of his neck. “Careful, or you will be my next target.”
“Hmm, I’m preeetty sure that breaks the - what did you say? Employment contracts. Oh dear.”
“Shut up,” I tell him, suddenly laughing. “Just shut up!”
Rafayel is still laughing when he kisses me again, and again. I cling to him, my legs tightening around his waist - but he’s not close enough -
As if on the same train of thought, Rafayel pulls us away from the wall and pivots, kicking off his shoes and striding across the studio.
“You’re not leaving me again,” I tell him, wrapping my arms tighter around his shoulders. “You hear me?”
“Oh no, I’m caught in a trap of my own volition,” Rafayel complains dramatically, his eyes twinkling as we pass through a doorway. “Whatever shall I do?”
I’m suddenly falling, and Rafayel moves with me, cradling my body as we tumble onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.
I don’t let myself catch my breath. Grabbing hold of his arms, I roll us over so I’m straddling Rafayel.
Surprise flashes across his expression for the barest of moments before he smirks at me. “Oh?” he says, cocking an eyebrow. “Taking charge?”
My mouth crashes against his own. I kiss him hungrily, and a shudder ripples through Rafayel’s body as my hands press down his chest and along the hard lines of his abdominal muscles; he gasps against my mouth, his fingers tightening on my waist.
“You’re sculpted like a damn god,” I tell him.
He huffs with laughter. “Weeell, funny you should mention that -”
Rolling my eyes, I tug at his buttons, undoing them as fast as I can; he pushes himself up to help me as I wrench the shirt off, breaking the kiss only to press his lips down the curve of my neck and collarbone.
“So … gorgeous …” he murmurs.
As Rafayel’s fingers slip under my blouse and pull it off over my head, my resolve rapidly starts to crumble, exacerbated by the gentle scrape of his nails on my skin.
“Just one - mmph - one more question,” Rafayel rasps. He looks me in the eye, panting heavily. “How long have you wanted to do this?”
I shake my head. “Does it matter?”
Rafayel gently grabs my chin, watching me for a moment. “It does to me.”
His low voice sends a shiver through me. There’s suddenly no air in the room.
“Too long,” I whisper.
I cup the side of his face, brushing my thumb across his cheek, and Rafayel nuzzles against my hand. “Is that so?” he murmurs.
A beat. “I don’t know when I realised,” I admit quietly. “But then I was suddenly losing you, and I hadn’t - I hadn’t had the time to figure it out -”
“Oh, cutie.” Rafayel holds me tighter as I bury my face in his shoulder.
“I don’t want to lose you again.”
“You won’t,” he murmurs. “I promise.”
I pull back to look at him - and find my gaze suddenly torn downwards. “Rafayel,” I gasp.
The soft red glow of the bond mark on his bare chest draws me in, calls to me, like a gentle tug on a thread of fate that carefully twines around my heart.
Rafayel watches me carefully, his expression unreadable.
I brush my trembling fingers over the red fishtail emblem. “It really was you,” I whisper. “This whole time.”
Memories crash through my mind, past and present blending together.
“With the power of the Sea God’s vow, our covenant - Rafayel, obey my command!”
“Breathe,” Rafayel murmurs.
I swallow audibly. “Rafayel?”
“I’m here.” He presses a gentle kiss to the tip of my nose. “It’s okay.”
I finally understand the power behind this bond; how it controls Rafayel, and binds him to me; how I used it to commit deeds against his will.
I don’t know how I can even forgive myself.
Sighing quietly, Rafayel carefully places his hands over mine. “There’s nothing to forgive,” he promises. “I mean, I know you were the one who told me to leave, but for some reason it feels like I was the one who abandoned you.”
Heartbreak splinters through me. “Please don’t,” I beg.
“But -”
“No, don’t you see? It was me,” I cry. “I was the one who abandoned you when you needed me most. Both then, and now. I’m - I’m not worthy of this mark, Rafayel! I never have been.”
“That guilt isn’t yours to carry. Not anymore,” Rafayel tells me, gently but firmly. “You did what you had to do. I’m not gonna blame you for that.”
I swallow audibly. “Someone else might have brought you less pain.”
“But I don’t want them.” Rafayel shakes his head, his eyes fierce, begging me to understand. “I was never going to choose anyone else. This heart belongs to you.”
“The Sea God’s heart, mine heart. Dost thou want it?”
With trembling fingers, I take his hand and place it on my chest, right over my own pounding heart. “As does this one,” I whisper. “Ever since …”
I can barely remember when the lines became blurred; when our friendship turned into a raging crush before blooming into something far more precious and powerful. It happened between moments, and heartbeats; amidst days spent in his studio and nights walking along the shoreline.
And then I was faced with the reality that I might never see him again.
He stares at me again. Something ancient stirs in his eyes. “I know.”
He starts to lean in again, but I put a hand to his chest, stopping him. “But I want you to choose it in return,” I tell him desperately, “of your own free will. Not because of fate; not because of any ancient foretold prophecy. I need to know that you choose me because I’m … I’m me.”
The bond mark glows brighter. Sighing softly, lovingly, Rafayel smiles. “I already have.”
And when he kisses me, deeply and tenderly like he’s holding his greatest treasure, I believe him.
“The universe … brought me back to you,” Rafayel murmurs, “and I’ll be damned if I let you go now.”
Taking a deep breath, I press my forehead to his. Rafayel nuzzles against me, his hand moving to press along my ribs.
“I want you,” I whisper. “So much it scares me.”
“Let it all go,” Rafayel murmurs. “Give in to your desires.” He brushes a lock of hair behind my ear. “Let yourself feel everything.”
His breath ghosts over my lips, the tension in the air palpable. He’s waiting for me.
“What if I fall?” I whisper.
He smiles. “Then I’ll be there to catch you.”
Cupping his face in my hands, I glance at his mouth - and let myself tumble into the abyss.
The smouldering embers erupt into a blaze, fanned by every delicate caress. I’m suddenly craving more, more, pressing myself against him as I tilt my head, deepening the kiss, burying my grief in the feel of his body.
Rafayel groans, deep in his throat. “There you are,” he murmurs, clutching greedily at my thigh. “You’re so beautiful; a masterpiece …”
His other hand slips into my bra, cupping me as his thumb swipes over the sensitive bud. I inhale sharply, a disbelieving laugh bubbling in my throat. “You haven’t even - ahh - seen the whole exhibit.”
“I don’t need to to appreciate all of you.”
I sigh dramatically. “Well, that’s a shame,” I lament, screwing up my courage and reaching around behind me; at the snap of elastic, Rafayel jerks back to look at me, his mouth dropping open. “Because I was looking forward to showing you around.”
I let the garment fall away, and what little remains of Rafayel’s restraint immediately seems to crumble as he tosses it aside.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he says quietly. “I’d be honoured to have a tour. As long as there’s snacks.”
He’s still trying to calm my nerves. I huff with laughter, my face heating up as my thoughts derail. “Hungry, huh?”
Rafayel’s fingers stutter over my skin. “Starving.”
He looks at me with a reverence I can barely comprehend, his eyes gliding over my torso in the same way he looks at paintings on the wall - with admiration, and a fathomless yearning, wanting to understand the story of how something came to be.
No one has ever gazed at me like this. Like I’m something wondrous to behold; like he’s never wanted anyone or anything more.
Like … he can finally breathe.
I gently lift his hands, pressing both of them to my chest; his palms are warm, like the flames I often see dancing across them. “There’s also … a VIP section,” I tell him. “Invitation only.”
“Is it really?” Rafayel teases back. “Because you’ve already been granted full access to my gallery … including my most priceless of works.”
Lightning ricochets through me as he massages me tenderly, my nerve endings ablaze beneath his touch. “Is that so?”
“Mhmm.” Rafayel leans in close, his eyes twinkling. “Guarded as closely as the ocean depths.”
Everything about him lures me in. As if I’m powerless to resist, I willingly take the bait.
“Oh?” Grinning suddenly, I trail my fingers down his chest … down the hard planes of his stomach … and lower. “Are you underestimating my abilities, Mr Rafayel?”
“Hey, no giggling!” Rafayel scolds me, his ears turning an even darker shade of red. “You dare mock the god of the -”
He makes a strangled noise, his breathing turning ragged as I run my hand over the hard bulge in his pants.
“Seems like security’s pretty lax,” I observe, tutting. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“And here - I was thinking you were shy.” Visibly fighting for control, Rafayel smirks, cocking an eyebrow. “Since you’re my bodyguard, I believe it’s your duty to … investigate.”
His voice drops an octave. And something in me snaps.
I jerk my head, frantically undoing his belt. “Oh, I plan to.”
His mouth crashes against my own like the sea meeting the shore, an explosion of energy, a force of nature that cannot be contained, hungry and possessive as he seizes my hips.
When I tug at the edge of his underwear, Rafayel whines restlessly. “Put me out of my misery,” he demands, “or I’ll do it myself.”
“You’re being bratty,” I tell him.
A grunt. “I’ve waited -”
His words disintegrate into gasps as I wrap my fingers around him. He stares at me, slack-jawed and glassy-eyed, and suddenly I am shy. For a man known the world over, it’s staggering that this sight - this artwork - is just for me, and me alone.
And it is beautiful.
Rafayel moans as my hand slides along him, writhing beneath my touch. “You … tease …”
“I learnt from the best,” I remind him.
Rafayel grunts, his breathing ragged. “The student - becomes the - ahh - master -”
My stomach does a flip, fire sparking through me. Testing the waters, I start to quicken my pace. His mouth falls open, his eyes clamping shut. “Like - like that,” he finally gets out, his hips jerking. “Please.”
The bond mark shimmers, and I’m captivated. Rafayel is trusting me with everything he is, the literal Sea God completely at my mercy, bare and vulnerable and giving himself to me.
Holy shit.
I squeeze gently and Rafayel’s head jolts back with a harsh grunt, his nails digging into my waist. He swears suddenly, his entire body shaking, lost in my touch.
“You’re incredible,” I whisper. I lean closer, applying a little more pressure. “Open your eyes. I want you to look at me.”
Rafayel obeys, but looks like he can barely concentrate as his eyes lock onto mine, his pupils blown wide. “I -!”
He comes hard and fast, and I get to see it in glorious slow motion, the way his muscles tense; the gasp and the groan; how he throws his head back and arches his spine; the tension melting away to euphoria as his body shudders.
I watch him come down from the high in awe, but I’m barely able to appreciate it before he grabs onto me and rolls us over so that he’s hanging over me.
“Your breathing is heavy … and your heart is pounding,” he observes, smirking as he trails a finger down my bare torso, my body a canvas beneath his gentle touch. Taking my hand, he kisses my fingers, tasting himself. “Someone isn’t completely satisfied yet.”
Leaning in, Rafayel’s mouth presses against my ear. “You mentioned … a VIP section,” he whispers, nipping at my lobe where a shell earring dangles, “that’s invitation only, hmm?”
I whimper quietly. Rafayel’s head snaps up. “I didn’t quite catch that.” He presses closer, his mouth brushing my own, hovering, never breaking eye contact. “What did you say?”
I can hardly breathe. “Yours must’ve gotten lost in the mail,” I finally gasp.
Rafayel laughs quietly, the sound deep and husky - and I instantly know I’m in trouble. “That explains it.” He stares at me, his eyes dark. “May I?”
I nod. He presses a tender kiss just below my collarbone, mirroring the glowing emblem on his chest; and then he begins to trail kisses down my chest, my stomach, my hips …
His fingers hook onto my waistband; there’s a tug, fabric sliding down my legs. I close my eyes, wincing as the cool air hits me - and realise that I’m now completely bare before him.
“You’re gorgeous,” Rafayel murmurs. “And all mine.”
The sheets rustle as he shifts. I glance down to catch a devastating glimpse of Rafayel’s head between my thighs.
Oh, hell.
“Just so you remember,” he says, his voice low and hypnotic as he looks up at me with hooded eyes, “I’m hungry tonight.”
Rafayel leans in and I gasp, clutching at the covers in a white knuckle hold. He licks and sucks with frightening precision, sending me hurtling towards the brink.
“You’re so wet already,” he purrs. “Did getting me off turn you on?”
His nails scrape against my thigh, and it’s a battle to hold myself together.
“You’re shaking. You want me bad, don’t you?”
“Bastard,” I half laugh, half groan, already falling apart at the seams, a moan choking in my throat.
A low chuckle. “Let me hear you,” he whispers.
Rafayel is merciless, dealing out pleasure with a speed and accuracy I can barely comprehend, adapting to every move my body makes and playing me like one of the many instruments he’s so goddamn good at -
The wave hits me so hard I barely have time to shout a warning, violent tremors wracking my body as the world briefly explodes.
A fond, breathy chuckle brings me back, hitting my inner thigh. “Good girl.”
I can barely think. “Please,” I beg.
“Oh, you want more?” Rafayel sounds like a cat that got the literal cream. “Good thing I’m not done yet.”
His mouth is over me again before my legs even stop shaking, and my hips immediately begin to roll. He’s gone straight for the kill, and I am utterly helpless.
“There,” I gasp, one of my hands moving to fist in his tousled hair. “Ohh … there …”
“Hmm …”
His lips vibrate around me, every nerve ending on fire. My back arches, my breathing ragged as my muscles tighten again, every thread converging on that single point where Rafayel’s mouth is.
Swearing, I feel myself start to tip over the edge. “I’m gonna …”
Rafayel doesn’t relent. The wave thunders towards me, threatening to break; I don’t ever want him to stop -
He suddenly pulls away with a strangled grunt. His movements frantic, Rafayel shucks off his pants and underclothes.
“Dammit,” I groan. “I was so close.”
His ragged breath skitters across my leg. “I know, cutie.”
“Don’t cutie me,” I complain. “You didn’t let me finish.”
Rafayel rises up, towering over me. His chest heaving, he stands like a gloriously carved statue, every muscled inch on display as he works away at himself with one hand.
“Oh, trust me.” Fire smoulders in his eyes, as lethal and seductive as his voice. “You’re going to.”
I helplessly glance down, and my face burns. “I - don’t you have a cooldown period?” I demand, stunned.
Rafayel grins as he falls forward, bracing himself over me. “Already had it, Miss Bodyguard.” He leans in to kiss the underside of my jaw. “Lemurians … react differently.” A hazy kiss to my mouth; another. “Especially when … the one we are bound to … mmph … is in the vicinity …”
Parts of his face glisten in the low light, and I laugh softly, reaching out. “Hang on.”
I grab the first thing I can - which happens to be my discarded shirt - and carefully wipe at his chin. “I can’t take you anywhere,” I tell him. “You’re a messy eater.”
A feral grin. “I have to let the chef know I enjoyed her dish somehow.”
“Rafayel!” I shout, laughing as heat blooms across my face.
“I mean, I did have seconds.”
“Greedy.”
As I brush the shirt over his nose, Rafayel grunts and seizes my wrist, his lids fluttering as he presses the material to his face and inhales deeply. “Your scent,” he murmurs.
He suddenly tears the shirt from my grasp and tosses it aside. “I - need you -”
My pulse racing, I press against his torso, trailing my hand down his stomach. “As badly as I need you?” I whisper.
I stop just below his navel, tracing delicate, teasing circles across his skin. He’s dangerously close, and painfully hard. I could touch him again; again. As a shudder ripples through his body, I glance up.
The look in Rafayel’s eyes borders on wild.
“If you don’t mind,” he says quietly, “I’m gonna finish what I started.”
Reaching down, his thumb begins to caress me in tight circles; my head falls back, my spine arching. Rafayel leans in to kiss my jaw. “May I?” he asks.
Caving to the mounting ecstasy, I nod - and then I feel him.
“Lift your hips,” Rafayel murmurs.
His hand slips under me to help; I do as he says, and a moment later a pillow is wedged under my lower back.
The angle makes every sensation so much sharper. My breathing stutters as he sinks into me, and Rafayel stops suddenly, anxiously watching my expression.
“You okay?” he whispers. “Still there?”
I nod jerkily. “Keep going,” I gasp.
With a grunt, Rafayel begins to move, a push and pull like the tides of a fathomless ocean as he settles into a rhythm.
“That’s it,” he soothes when I tremble again. “You’re doing so well.”
“Rafayel,” I moan.
He leans in again, mouthing at my neck as his hand slides up my thigh. “You truly are a piece of art,” he sighs. “More stunning than any colour I could ever put on a canvas.”
I can barely concentrate. “But - you can see so many colours,” I protest, blushing.
“And you are a kaleidoscope of all of them.”
He sinks deeper, pressing me into the mattress. I cling to him, lost in the haze and already owning the marks trailing across his back. The bond mark glows brighter than I’ve ever seen; I lean in and press a hot, ragged kiss to it. Mine; mine.
Rafayel’s breathing gets heavier. “I want you … on top again …”
I nod jerkily, and Rafayel swiftly pulls me up onto his lap so that I’m straddling him. I sink down onto his length, both of us gasping and swearing.
“You feel so good,” Rafayel groans. His hips jerk frantically. “Cutie …”
He nuzzles his face against my chest, his hands sliding up my back. My fingers twist in his purple locks, and Rafayel shivers as my nails scrape his scalp, pressing another kiss just below my collarbone. His hips roll with the rise and fall of my body, an ebb and flow, two hearts in tandem hurtling through time and deepspace together.
“Ah, there!” I choke out. “There -”
His core strength astounds me as he thrusts up again; I push down to meet him and another shockwave jolts through me, my nails raking down his shoulders. “Ahh …”
“You’ve got - good aim,” Rafayel pants, eyes glazed.
“Of course.” I laugh raggedly. “Professionally - trained hunter - ohh -”
One of his hands slips between us, his long fingers setting a devastating pace against me. I instinctively grind harder into him, onto him; Rafayel throws his head back, gasping.
“Raf,” I choke out, my thighs beginning to shake. My nails dig in, my core muscles clenching; I’m falling, I’m falling -
“I got you. I got you.” Rafayel pulls me closer, his voice low and ragged against my ear. “You can let go.”
I finally do.
I bury my face in his neck as my body spasms, ecstasy crashing through me in waves. The bond mark flares; a moment later, Rafayel reaches his own release, choking out a gasp as every glorious muscle goes taut.
Then all stills.
o-o-o-o-o
“You’re very quiet,” Rafayel murmurs, soothingly running a hand up and down my spine as we cling to one another in the darkness, curled up on the bed together. “You okay?”
I nod, turning my face and blindly searching. Rafayel’s lips find my own a moment later, kissing me softly and sweetly.
“You’re here,” I whisper again.
Exhaling shakily, Rafayel nuzzles his nose against mine. “I’m here,” he confirms, moving up to press a kiss to my temple. “I got you.”
Smiling, I snuggle into him, pressing my ear against his chest and listening to his pounding heart as I watch the glow of the bond mark slowly fade. I tenderly trace the fishtail with my fingertip, sighing softly.
“Wanna shower?” Rafayel asks. “I can go warm the water for you.”
I hug him tighter. “In a minute.”
I run my hand up and down his back, feeling the dips and curves of his spine. “Don’t you want one too?”
“Hmmm.” Rafayel nuzzles his face in my hair. “In a minute.”
I laugh quietly, and his own laugh rumbles against me.
Listening to it, my smile fades. A part of me still can’t shake the harrowing emptiness that had consumed me for so many days. The fear that he’s going to disappear again as soon as I let him out of my sight crashes through me.
“What’s wrong?” Rafayel murmurs. “You’re trembling.”
I look up to meet his gaze. “Stay with me,” I beg. “Please.”
Rafayel’s expression tightens painfully in understanding. Swallowing audibly, he pulls me tighter into his embrace, leaning in to kiss me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers against my lips. “I promise.”
o-o-o-o-o
The tantalising aroma of eggs and bacon pulls me from my slumber.
The previous night feels like a dream, traces of it lingering in the sweet soreness in my body and in the soft sheets twisted around me.
“Fishie?” I mumble.
I stretch my fingers across the bed, only to find the space beside me empty and cool to the touch. And that’s when I hear a faint singing from beyond the room.
My eyes closed, I lie there for a moment, listening as I bask in the gentle warmth of the morning sun. Rafayel is happy.
And he’s suddenly too far away.
I reach for my clothes - but at the last second, I pull on one of his shirts instead.
Weaving my way through Rafayel’s home, I stumble into the kitchen, yawning - and stop at the wonderful sight before me.
“… But you, but you pull me near; hold me close and never let it go!” Rafayel belts out.
Disheveled hair aside, he’s wearing nothing but an apron over a pair of inside-out boxers. Rafayel whistles cheerfully amidst bouts of singing and humming, using the spatula as a microphone while he tends to the food. I lean against the doorframe, watching fondly for a moment as he shakes his hips.
“La la la la … la la la la …”
A searing warmth seeps into my chest. If this is what every day with him will be like, I want it desperately. I don’t know how the universe brought him home, but it was worth it just for this.
Smiling, I finally step forward. “Smells good.”
Spinning around, a breathless smile suddenly graces Rafayel’s features. “Well, good morning, Miss Bodyguard,” he says, moving towards me. “I see you’ve claimed something else as yours.”
“And you know it,” I say, grinning as his arms slip around my waist. “Especially since my shirt needs to go in the laundry.”
Rafayel’s expression glazes for a brief moment before he grins sheepishly, his ears starting to burn. “A worthy sacrifice, I believe.”
“Exactly; I’m just taking what’s owed to me,” I laugh. As I wrap my arms around his shoulders, my nose wrinkles. “Sorry - I haven’t even showered - or brushed my teeth yet -”
“Cutie,” Rafayel says, his eyes shining. “My sweet darling. I wouldn’t have you any other way right now.”
He leans in to kiss me when a sharp sizzling sound crackles through the air. Rafayel leaps back like he’s been shocked. “The bacon!”
He races back to the stove, and I quickly cover my mouth to stifle my giggles.
Clacking the tongs, Rafayel glances back at me, steam hissing violently as he removes the pan lid. “How do you want your eggs?”
“Fertilised.”
“What?” he shouts over the noise.
“Sunny up, please!”
“Coming right up, Miss Bodyguard!”