Chapter Eighty-oneRainThis is all my fault.I shouldn’t have come to Paris. God, I shouldn’t have dragged him here.If I hadn’t been so determined to chase ghosts that weren’t even ready to haunt me, if I hadn’t been so desperate to find pieces of a past that had never wanted to be found, none of this would have happened. We could’ve stayed back in New York or another any other country, or just anywhere else in the world that wasn’t cursed by my longing to know where I came from. But I had asked. I had wanted answers. I had hoped that knowing the truth about my parents would stitch something closed inside me. Instead, I opened a door wide enough for something dark to slip through.And now Enzo was the one paying for it. I shouldn’t have been so desperate. This wouldn’t be happening if I had just stopped when the door closed to this while we were still in New York. Maybe that was the heaven’s way of protecting us, maybe that was the way the heaven’s wanted to prevent us from walking
Chapter EightyEnzoAfter a beautiful, long minutes of driving with Rain and Louis’s laughter spilling like soft jazz into the quiet hum of the car, the vehicle finally came to a halt.Their voices had wrapped around me like warmth, Rain’s laughter light and honeyed, Louis’s slightly louder, more dramatic, but the kind of dramatic that made you feel at home. It had been soothing. It had been everything. And I was glad Rain could be with someone like her and have a good time with her. I didn’t need to see Louis to know what was going to be a good sister to Rain, her presence and voice exuded positivity and love and I could tell that from the moment she realized Rain was the baby her mother picked from the streets years ago.The car eased to a slow stop, and I could feel the gentle shift of weight as Louis unbuckled her seatbelt, still mid-sentence about some boutique they needed to visit after breakfast and some other places she wanted to go. She had went on about lot of places she wo
Chapter Seventy-nineEnzoThe morning felt brighter than any other morning.I didn’t need to see that to know it, I could feel it in the softness of the air brushing against my skin, in the warmth dancing across the room from where the windows faced east. The way the sheets felt lighter on my body, the gentle hush of the world just beginning to wake—it all told me morning had arrived. It was going to be a day carved out just for her. A day to worship her, to drown her in joy, to wrap her in the kind of warmth that seeps into your bones and lingers long after the moment has passed. A day to make Rain feel more than just special—to make her feel seen, cherished, and utterly, selfishly mine. A day to bring her happiness back in full, vibrant color and make sure she didn’t miss a single breath of the pleasure she deserved.She was still sleeping beside me, safe and peaceful.I could tell, I could feel it. Rain’s breath was soft and steady, the kind of sound that could lull a man into beli
Chapter Seventy-eightEnzo It was like we were racing time, like we couldn’t devour each other fast enough.I lifted her into my arms like I couldn’t bear a second more of not having her beneath me. My chest pressed to hers, heart to heart, and I carried her to the bed with a sense of urgency I couldn’t disguise—even though I wished I could slow time itself.I laid her down gently, savoring the moment she sank into the mattress. Her body radiated heat—raw, aching anticipation that pulsed off her in waves. I climbed over her, hovering for a breathless second, caught between worship and hunger.I kissed my way down from her chest, lips grazing the swell of her beautiful, full breasts, lingering just enough to make her arch beneath me. I moved lower, tracing the soft dip of her belly with my mouth until I reached the band of her pants.I didn’t pause. I pulled them down her legs with one smooth motion, baring her completely to me.And then I knelt between her thighs and just looked.The
Chapter Seventy-sevenEnzo“Kiss me.” Rain whispered again, her voice low and sultry, filled with everything that made my vein pulsed with longing and I knew right then and there that the day was going to end in the perfect way possible.My hands found her waist almost instinctively pulling her closer until there was no space left between us. She fit into me like she’d always belonged there, like her body had been waiting all day to finally melt into mine, and mine had been aching to receive her just the same. Her arms tightened, holding onto me with a kind of desperation that made something deep inside me crack open, ready to receive her.I cupped her face slowly, reverently, like she was something fragile the world had tried to break too many times but had stood strong, my thumb trailed her smooth skin gently and I felt her breath quiver gently under my touch. My thumb move down, brushing along the side of her cheek, warm and slightly damp from the unshed tears she has bend carrying
Chapter Seventy-sixEnzoThe last time I remember, I made sure to clear every issue I had with anyone in Paris before leaving for New York. I was deliberate about it. I didn’t want to owe anyone anger or resentment. I ensured no one had a lingering grudge or an open wound they could one day turn against me. Paris was supposed to remain a peaceful escape for me, a place I could run to when the weight of the dark world grew too heavy, when I needed to breathe again. But now? Strangers were trailing us, and I couldn’t figure out who would want to come after me here. It didn’t add up. After all the settlements, the negotiations, the clean-ups, I still wasn’t safe? Who could dare to follow me like this? I didn’t understand it.“What’s going on?” Rain’s shaky voice pierced my thoughts, trembling with fear.I turned toward her, and even though my eyes couldn’t see, I didn’t need vision to feel her panic. Her breathing was shallow and scattered, like she was teetering between a breakdown and