Page 28 of Valentine's with the Cartel

He was always like that. He would be patient with me as long as he felt it was necessary. He didn't want to do something he would later regret.

Instead of demanding immediate answers the moment we crossed the threshold of our bedroom, Rafael guided me gently towards the bed with a tenderness that made my breath catch. He sat me down on the edge of the mattress and knelt before me, his hands coming up to frame my face almost reverently.

I blinked a few times, locking eyes with him but quickly finding it difficult to maintain the battle of stares. His gaze was much stronger than mine, and I knew he was right while I was wrong.

"My beautiful husband," he murmured, his thumbs stroking over my cheekbones in a hypnotic caress as he gazed at me with such raw devotion that I felt tears sting the back of my eyes. "You look absolutely exhausted."

I blinked rapidly, trying to stave off the urge to weep at the sincerity in his voice. It was rare for him to show this level of concern and gentleness, especially when he had been so blatantly worried about me earlier.

The contrast made me feel cherished beyond measure. It further made me realize how special I was to him, that he couldn't live without me.

"I'm okay," I assured him even as I leaned into his touch like a sunflower craving sunlight. "Just a bit overwhelmed, I think." It was an understatement, but one that felt safe enough given the intimacy of our position. Later, I would have to confess the truth about my suspicions regarding my pregnancy—there was no way around that now—but for the moment, I simply wanted to bask in the warmth of his adoration.

Rafael hummed as if weighing my words, his eyes never leaving mine even as he continued to cup my face like a delicate treasure. "Mmh," he rumbled low in his throat. "I can imagine how you must be feeling, given the way you ran from the table like that. And now, here you are, looking ready to collapse any second."

His hands slid down to grip my shoulders, squeezing almost imperceptibly as if gauging my stability.

I couldn't help but shudder at the blatant reminder of how vulnerable I had been in front of everyone downstairs—not just physically but emotionally too, with all those ugly memories about my past resurfacing because of Mara's manipulations. It was mortifying to think about.

But Rafael seemed more concerned than disgusted by my weakness, his gaze turning almost fierce as he drew me closer by the lapels of my shirt until our noses were practically touching.

"Never forget that I would do anything in my power to protect you from pain or discomfort," he growled softly, the raw intensity in his eyes making my heart clench. "You are mine to cherish and nurture always."

I swallowed hard around the lump forming rapidly in my throat, hardly daring to believe that I could ever be worthy of such devotion from a man like him. But as he continued to cradle me so carefully, almost reverently, it became harder to doubt the sincerity in his words.

I knew he was telling me exactly what he felt in that moment.

"I love you," I breathed, the truth of those feelings welling up inside me with such force that I could no longer contain them even if I had wanted to. "More than anything."

And then Rafael was kissing me like a man starved for sustenance, devouring my mouth with a hunger that made me dizzy and weak in the knees as I clung to him.

Our lips moved together in a fevered dance of give and take, tongues twining in slick glides as he explored every inch of my oral cavity with devastating thoroughness. Our saliva mixed, making our kiss feel messy—but in a good way.

I whimpered into him, lost to the raw passion and longing he was igniting inside me with such ruthless precision.

This man would be the ruin of me if I didn't die first from sheer ecstasy.

But even as the kiss deepened into something darker, more carnal in nature, Rafael continued to touch me with an almost worshipful reverence.

His hands skimmed down my sides and over the curves of my ass as if memorizing every contour by rote, kneading and squeezing the firm globes.

"You mean everything to me," he groaned against my lips before trailing them down the line of my jaw to nip sharply at the juncture where it met my throat. "And you will never let me forget it."

I gasped as his teeth sank into my delicate flesh hard enough to mark but not quite break the skin, arching into him even as I grabbed handfuls of his hair and held on for dear life.

"Please," I begged, hardly recognizing the desperate edge in my own voice as he licked over the abraded skin with soothing strokes that made me shudder. "I need you inside me. I can't take much more of this teasing."

I couldn't help but be surprised by my own statement. A few weeks ago, I would never have said something like that. Back then, he was the reason my life felt miserable. But everything changed when he began to show me the depth of his feelings for me.

Rafael chuckled even as his hips surged forward to grind his hardening length against mine with deliberate purpose. The friction sent sparks of pleasure-pain shooting through my core, making me keen and writhe against him like a wild thing.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'm teasing you, little omega?" He purred as his fingers found the waistband of my trousers and flicked them open with quick efficiency. "Perhaps this is exactly where I meant to take us from the moment we stepped foot inside this room."

The rasp of denim against flesh as he pushed my pants down to mid-thigh filled the air with the smell of my arousal, making me clench hard around nothing in a visceral need for completion.

"Because I know something you don't," Rafael continued with infuriating smugness as his fingers dipped into the crease of my ass to ghost over my twitching entrance. "I can scent your secret on you now that you've been sick—this sweet, heady musk telling me that you're ready to become a father."

He punctuated his words with a firm press against my hole that made my eyes roll back and my mouth fall open in a silent scream even as my cock throbbed between our bodies.

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