Page 20 of Bound By Darkness

Her lips twitch into a small smile, but her eyes linger on mine, searching for something I’m not ready to give.There’s curiosity there, but I don’t let her dig any deeper.Not tonight.

The mattress dips beneath her as I ease her onto the bed.She relaxes back against the pillows as I stand there watching her.The way the dim light catches the red in her hair, the way her gaze never strays from me, calm yet challenging all at once.

“Like what you see?”she asks, amusement dancing in her voice.

“You’re dangerous, Eve,” I reply as I crawl over her.

She raises an eyebrow, a teasing smile tugging at the corner of her lips.“I’m dangerous?”

“You have no idea,” I murmur, trailing my fingers along the bare skin of her thigh.The heat that sparks between us is immediate, a current I can’t seem to escape.

“I could say the same about you.”

The words hang between us for a beat, her voice quieter now.For a moment, I think about giving her something real, one small piece of who I am, of the things I carry, but the instinct dies before it can take hold.

Instead, I slide my hand higher, leaning in until my lips brush against hers.“Then I guess we’re a good match.”My voice dips, heat curling in my chest as I tug lightly on her lower lip.

She doesn’t argue.Doesn’t press for more.She just kisses me back as her fingers tangle in my hair.

I lose myself in her again, in the taste of her, in the feel of her body pressed against mine.It’s easier to let this pull between us drown out everything else.

Later, when she’s curled against me, her breathing even and slow, I lie awake, staring at the ceiling.I tell myself I’ll leave eventually, that this thing between us will burn out just as quickly as it started.But with her in my arms, the lie doesn’t feel as convincing as it should.

Aoife

When I wake up,the villa is bathed in the golden glow of early morning, the quiet stillness of this place wrapping around me like a blanket.Waking up with Eamon’s warmth beside me, his arm heavy across my waist, has become a familiar routine.

It’s been weeks now, the days blurring together into something that feels like a dream.Sun-drenched afternoons on secluded beaches, lazy evenings spent tangled in each other, and nights filled with more heat and passion than I thought possible.I’d call it bliss if I didn’t know better.

Because the truth is, we don’t talk about anything real.I don’t ask questions.Neither does he.It’s unspoken—this thing between us.No strings.No complications.Just us, tucked away here where the rest of the world feels like it doesn’t exist.

I roll onto my side, propping myself on my elbow as I study him.He’s still asleep, his face relaxed.The sharp intensity I’ve come to know so well is nowhere to be found.Without that smirk or the intense stare he always wears like armor, he almost looks peaceful.Vulnerable.It’s disarming seeing him like this, and the attraction I’ve been trying to ignore digs in deeper, stubborn and unwelcome.

I remind myself that this isn’t real.This is temporary.Nothing more than a stolen moment outside the lives we both clearly want to avoid.That any day now, I’ll wake up and be ready to move on.

But as I lie here, watching the rise and fall of his chest, I can’t shake the feeling that this is starting to feel too comfortable.There’s a pull between us, something I can’t explain, and I hate that I feel it.This isn’t supposed to happen.

We’re not anything.

Having great sex with a man doesn’t make him yours, and it sure as hell doesn’t make him safe.I’ve lived with secrets my entire life, and I’d bet anything he’s keeping his own.

The man is a mystery, and that’s all he should ever be.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand.I grab it and glance at the screen.

Ruairi:Call me today.

The knot in my stomach tightens as I swipe the message open.It’s short, clipped, and carries the weight of his concern, but there’s something else there too—suspicion.

It’s getting harder and harder to hide Eamon from him.He knows me too well.Twintuitionwe used to call it when we were younger.I haven’t returned his calls in days.He’s already been asking too many questions about why I’m still in the Maldives.I usually don’t stay in one place for so long and I’m running out of excuses.But Ruairi will continue to push, probe, and demand answers because that’s what he does.He never lets things go.

And if Ruairi finds out I’m with a man, he’ll shift straight into overprotective brother mode, demanding to know who Eamon is, whether I’m safe, and if I’ve lost my mind.I can’t let that happen.Not when I’ve worked so hard to show everyone I can take care of myself.

With a heavy exhale, I swipe the message away and set the phone down, forcing the tension in my shoulders to ease.When I roll over, I find Eamon watching me, his blue eyes now awake and alert.“Morning,” he murmurs, his voice rough with sleep.

“Morning,” I reply.

He stretches, the sheet slipping dangerously low on his hips.

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