I raised my brows at Rafe, and his dark gaze swept my body.
"Strip," he repeated. "Unless you don't want to come in the next five minutes?"
It was safe to say my clothes had never hit the floor faster than in that moment. If five minutes was all we had, then I wasn't messing around.
I frowned as my panties dropped, noticing Rafe hadn't reciprocated.
"You just gonna stand there with all your clothes on? I thought we were on a time limit here." He grinned and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Rafe..."
"Quit giving me that look, Cinderella," he replied with a teasing edge. "We don't have anywhere near enough time to do everything I want to do to you. For now, I'll be satisfied with something small. Come here." He held a hand out to me, and I eyed it warily.
"Why do I feel like I'll regret this?" I muttered, but took his hand anyway.
The second our fingers touched, his grip tightened, and he hauled me across the space between us. My naked body pinned to his, Rafe walked us across the padded mats until the backs of my knees hit his weight-lifting bench, and he pushed me to sit.
Wordless, but holding my gaze with unblinking intensity, Rafe sank to his knees and spread my legs wide—way wider than he needed to, but that was just typical Rafe, constantly needing to show me he was in control.
When his mouth came down on my aching cunt, I let out a low moan. My hips surged up, eager for more, and my fingers tangled in his black hair. If this was how he wanted to punish me, maybe I'd break his rules more often.
His sinful tongue lashed at my pussy, torturing me in the sweetest way until his fingers sank back into me and I screamed. I was way past the point of coherent speech, so I just threw my head back and let him work me over.
When I came, I saw stars. Fucking stars. My vision spotted, my ears rang, and—
"Fuck!" I shouted at the sharp pain of Rafe's teeth on my inner thigh. But then he sucked the injury and I came again. Bam, just like that. By the time I’d eventually come back to Earth, my whole body was like jelly and the leather bench beneath my ass was slick with the evidence of my intense orgasms.
Rafe didn't rush me as my chest heaved and I untangled my fingers from his hair. He just kissed along my inner thighs, then ran the tip of his tongue over the vicious bite mark he'd left.
I shuddered and groaned at how much it hurt, but also at how much it turned me on again. If we had more time, I'd definitely be ripping his pants off and riding him like my personal pony.
"What the fuck was that for?" I growled when my breathing slowed a fraction. My voice was hoarse from screaming and my mouth was dry, but I was in a euphoric bliss so my growl held little to no anger whatsoever.
Rafe's grin was pure evil. "I told you I'd leave a mark," he replied, licking the mark again. He'd sucked it right after biting, so not only were there teeth marks, he’d ensured it would bruise enough to create a purple hickey. Classy as fuck.
"Caveman," I muttered, biting my lip as his hands cupped my ass and slid me closer to him. He sat up on his knees and brought his lips to mine for a slow, lingering kiss that tasted like me.
"I wish I could make that permanent," he murmured against my lips. His hands were tangled in my messy hair, and I knew there was no way in hell we were making it to the dinner on time. "The way you've permanently marked my soul." He pulled back from my lips just far enough to meet my gaze, but his grip on my hair didn't falter. "In case there could be any level of confusion, let this be totally clear. I love you, Violet Rose Spencer. Violence, too. You're my entire fucking world, and I will see the streets run red with blood before I let Uriel get his hands on you again. Understood?" The raw emotion in his voice struck me straight in the heart, and for a second it was like I couldn't breathe.
In my silence, Rafe claimed my lips once more and kissed me like I was his goddamn oxygen.
"Violet," he growled when I still said nothing. "Do you understand? Don't casually make me commit murder just because you wanted to run off for a chat with Alex."
I shivered, remembering the casual way he'd killed Nurse Reller for assaulting me. Yeah, he was more than capable of everything he promised. And more.
"I understand," I whispered back, my voice still hoarse. "And... I love you too, you prickly fuck. But what about..."
"Jordy?" He arched a brow as he shifted back a few inches. He didn't respond immediately, instead taking a long, steady breath and releasing it. "He's my best friend, closer than a brother. And he loves you so much it hurts... which, I think, is the same for you. Would I rather have you all to myself? Hell yes. But you and I would kill each other before we even graduated Arbon. Jordy balances us out. He’s the missing ingredient to prevent us detonating."
Relief washed through me in such a tangible wave that it left me sagging in Rafe's arms, my forehead to his neck. "That's exactly how I feel," I mumbled into his warm skin. His arms banded around my naked body and crushed me tight to his.
"Then we're on the same page?" Rafe asked, his hands roaming my bare back in a way that could escalate all too quickly if we let it.
I nodded, pressing a kiss to his neck. "Definitely." I raised my head back up, and this time it was me who claimed his mouth in a soul-deep kiss. After all, we were equals.
"We'd better go," Rafe said when the kiss broke off, but the way his fingers gripped my naked ass and his hard length ground against my core, I could tell he was all too willing to blow off the dinner entirely.
But then again, if we were serious about being involved in these world-changing events, then we needed to start putting our responsibilities first. There was always time for sex later.
Reluctantly, I peeled myself out of his grip and started putting my clothes back on. When my pants brushed the mark he'd left, I hissed a breath of pain. Rafe, the motherfucker, just laughed.
Goddamn possessive piece of shit.
He pulled me in for another long, unhurried kiss before we left the gym, then held my gaze steady for a moment.
"I love you, Violet," he reiterated in a husky voice, and my heart raced.
"I love you too, Rafe," I replied with total sincerity.
A satisfied smile curved his lips, but it was quickly followed by a small frown. "But let's get something clear. I never want Jordy's erect dick anywhere near mine. We're cool to share, but not at the same time. Clear?"
I laughed at his phrasing, but nodded and grabbed his face for another kiss.
In that moment, everything was right in my world. Uriel couldn't have been further from my mind, and the problems of our world seemed unimportant. Nothing mattered except the fact that both my playboy princes had told me they loved me.
I'd never felt luckier in my whole life.
Chapter 29
By the time we’d cleaned up and dressed in our finery, we were late to the dinner. It’d been worth it, though. When we swept into the dining room together, Alex's eyes narrowed in a way that sent a spark of satisfaction through me. I shouldn't have cared what he thought, but it hadn’t been so long ago that he'd taken my blossoming love for him and shit all over it.
So yeah, it made me smile.
"Damn girl," Mattie commented as we took our seats, "You look next level gorgeous. Holy crap."
I grinned back at her. "Thanks, babe. Jax chose the dress for me while I was staying there." I smoothed my hands over the buttery-soft, silver silk. The dress had a full skirt, but it draped my body like it had been made just for me. I'd never felt more like a princess.
Mattie snorted a laugh. "I didn't mean the dress; I meant that freshly-fucked glow you're rocking. Frequent orgasms really bring out the shine in your eyes."
I rolled my eyes but couldn't wipe the smile from my face. "We didn't fuck," I muttered back, my gaze meeting Rafe's across the table with a silent promise.
His lips curved in a smile, and he mouthed later at me.
You're damn fucking right, later.
Jordan was across the room chatting with a couple of the New American soccer coaches, but quickly made his way over to us and slid into the vacant chair beside me.
"You look stunning," he whispered, leaning in to place a subtle kiss behind my ear. "I can't get over how lucky I am to call you mine."
The table jolted, and Jordan winced like someone had just kicked him in the shin.
"Ours," Rafe snapped, correcting him.
Jordan just gave an easy shrug and grinned like he couldn't help fucking with his best friend. "Okay sure, ours..." He dropped his voice lower, whispering the rest directly in my ear. "In public. Mine when I get you alone later and strip that dress off."
A thrill ran through me at his words, and I bit back a grin when Rafe glowered from across the table. He was too fucking fun to rile up, that was for sure.
"Is this seat taken?" someone asked, standing behind the chair next to Mattie and pulling all of our attention.
Nolan glared from across the table. "Fuck off, Zach."
Mattie tensed beside me, not turning her head to look at her fiancé. As far as I knew, she'd been avoiding him ever since their kiss. Talk about awkward...
"I wasn't asking you, Nolan," Zach replied with a snarl. "Mattie, can I sit?" His gaze was intense on my beautiful friend, and her cheeks were tinted with pink as she studied the cutlery.
When it became clear he wasn't just going to disappear from the force of her thoughts alone, she gave a stiff shrug. "Sure, whatever. Do what you want."