Page 124 of Modern Romance March 2025 (5-8)

“Rafe.”

His name comes out on a sob. His fingers tangle in my hair as he pulls back just enough to seal his lips over mine. The kiss travels through me, lightning bolts of pleasure that blend with the sensation of coming home.

“Tessa.” He keeps one arm around my waist to steady me as the other comes up and cups my face. He presses a tender kiss to my forehead. “I was going to come to you. To Paris.”

“Guess I beat you to it.”

I cling to him. His initial reception gives me hope. But I know there’s still so much to be done. So much for us to figure out.

For now, though, just for this moment, there’s us. There’s hope.

“I did forget something, you know,” I murmur against his neck.

“What’s that?”

I steel myself, summon every ounce of courage I have even as I fight against a deep-seated fear.

“I forgot to tell you I love you.”

His fingers still on my back as his body tenses in my arms. My heart catapults into my throat. Have I made a mistake?

One hand grips my chin and tilts my head up. His mouth crashes down onto mine. A deep, possessive kiss that makes my soul sing.

“Tessa.”

He murmurs my name, says it over and over again as he kisses my lips, my cheek, my forehead.

“I should have told you.” I hold on to his neck, lean into his touch. “I didn’t want to tell you and have it come across like I was using my emotions to keep you tethered to me. To influence your decision.”

He pulls back and gives me that half smile that drives me crazy. “If you haven’t noticed, I rarely surrender to the wishes of others.”

“It wasn’t worth the risk.” My tone is serious, my conviction strong. “I never wanted you to feel trapped, Rafe. I already felt like I had used you when we got married. I couldn’t bear to do that again. To either of us.”

“I don’t know if you telling me then would have made a difference. I was so entrenched in the idea that I wasn’t enough for you that I was blind to everything else.” He glances around the room. “It took you being gone for me to realize the kind of life I could have with you. And the kind of life I would have without.”

He leans down, presses his forehead against mine. “The possibility of having a real marriage, a family, all of it seemed impossible because I had never really contemplated it. When I saw you in Paris, I wanted more. But my only basis for comparison were my experiences with Lucifer and my mother and Gavriil.”

I trace a soothing hand down the side of his face. “Gavriil wasn’t your fault.”

“I talked with him.”

“When?”

“Just before you arrived. You must have just missed him.” He shakes his head. “Michail was here, too.”

“The Drakos brothers all together.” I laugh slightly. “I would have paid to see that.”

“It was something.” His smile fades as his gaze intensifies. “It was…helpful. I don’t know where it will lead. But I didn’t realize until Gavriil forgave me that I’d been carrying that weight around with me for so long. It impacted me more than I had realized. Once I didn’t have that hanging around my neck…”

His breath rushes out. He moves one hand between our bodies. When he settles in on my stomach, I can’t help it. Tears gather on my lashes. One traces a warm trail down my cheek.

“I thought about it, Tessa. I thought about it and suddenly I wanted it like nothing I’ve ever wanted before. Well,” he says as he looks up from where his hand rests, “except you. None of it means anything without you.”

“Rafe.” His name is a broken sob as love swells inside me.

“I love you, Tessa. I’ve loved you for far longer than I ever realized. When you left…” His breath rushes out. “It nearly killed me, Tessa.”

“I missed you, too. It was like a piece of me was missing. I couldn’t have survived.”

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