Page 78 of Promises in the Dark

She swallows hard, and I watch the delicate pulse at the base of her throat begin to flutter.

My finger taps on the table, the only hint that my control is hanging on by a thread. “Tell me something.” I curl my fingers against my palm. “What is the opposite of fearing me?”

For a moment, she stares at me, appearing unsure how to answer the question.

Seconds pass, feeling like an eternity, before her lips part, her eyelashes fluttering as she inhales deeply. “It means that instead of wanting to run away from you, which is a very familiar feeling I’ve held for men all my life…” She takes a deep breath, her chest rising as she places her hand flat on the table before her. “I want to run toward you. I want to be…with you.”

Our eyes meet, every muscle in my body locking up.

Something dark stirs within me. A deep, possessive longing for her I’ve been trying so hard to bury. But denying myself the one thing in this world I desire above all else is turning out to be an impossible feat.

Anxiety flashes across her eyes, and my hand instinctively reaches out, slipping around hers, the softness of her skin such a contrast to my roughness.

“Am I wrong to feel that way?” she asks timidly.

“No.” I shake my head, my thumb brushing across her skin. “You’re safe with me. Always.” Bringing her knuckles to my lips, I press a lingering kiss against her skin, a slight shiver overtaking her as the air around us shifts. A need inside me grows tenfold, one I’ve yet to ever experience.

A need to devour her.

Claim her.

Make her mine.

But I can’t.

Not when I promised her something no man has ever given her.

I lower her hand on the table, pulling mine away with reluctance. I lean back in my chair, forcing distance where every instinct demands me to get closer to her. A muscle in my jaw ticks, my hand dropping to my lap beneath the table, tightening into an uncomfortable fist. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. “I promised you I would get you your freedom.” My eyes open, finding hers watching me with a vulnerability that causes my chest to constrict almost painfully. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Chapter seventeen

Charlotte

“Ipromised you I would get you your freedom… And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Alex’s words from dinner echo softly in my mind as we take the boat back to the Marchettis’ home, sailing through the calm seas. It’s a promise he made me that once filled me with hope, but now, strangely, the prospect of it seems to spread unease through my veins.

We spent the rest of dinner in a comfortable silence, enjoying the delicious food. My head was too busy overthinking every word and gesture to contribute much to the conversation.

Like how good it felt to have Alex’s lips on my skin, brushing gently across my knuckles as if I were a delicate flower petal he was scared of breaking. Such a simple gesture, and yet it made me wonder how his lips might feel pressed against my own.

A thought that worries me for reasons I can’t quite put a finger on.

“Are you okay?” Alex stands on the dock, his hand outstretched for me, his eyes searching my face with worry.

I blink a few times and look around. I was so lost in my head that I didn’t even realize the boat had docked and the captain and Alex were waiting for me.

Embarrassment washes over me. “Yes.” I place my hand in his, savoring the warmth of his touch while stepping out of the boat. As I stand beside him, he looks down at me as though he wants to say something before slightly shaking his head and stepping away to put distance between us.

It’s the same thing he did at the restaurant.

One minute, I thought he was about to kiss every inch of my skin. A notion that had me squeezing my thighs together beneath the table. I was ready for his next move, anticipation filling my core. But then he set my hand on the table and pulled his back, creating an invisible barrier between us.

He gestures a hand forward, and I walk ahead, straight to our room. Walking through the door, we find Caine on the couch with a glass of amber liquid in his hand, staring off at the night sky before him.

Upon our arrival, he turns his face toward us, a mischievous grin growing. “The lovebirds are back.”

Heat spreads over my cheeks as I wrap my arms around myself.