This one goes out to all my silent supporters and everyone voting with powerstones and golden tickets. Thank you all so much for your love! Keep those golden tickets coming, and I will drop a mass release of more than three Chapters. Enjoy!

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It was not as if Aliana expected him to just walk in and share the room with her since that had only happened once back in Spain.

Yet, she had still left her door unlocked, just in case he preferred to sleep in here rather than on the living room sofa, especially since the other bedrooms in the house were fully occupied.

Wanting to check downstairs for him once again, she slipped out of bed. However, the moment her feet touched the soft carpet of her room, she stilled when she caught the faint sound coming from inside her bathroom.

Unsure of who or what she might find, she slowly stood up and tiptoed across the bedroom to slip into her walk-in closet.

Grabbing one of her stiletto heels as a makeshift weapon, she held it tightly as her anxious gaze settled on the bathroom door, where the muffled sound of rushing water continued to echo.

Gulping hard, she slowly and carefully made her way toward the bathroom door. It wasn’t completely closed, allowing a sliver of light to pierce through the gap and cut into the dark walk-in closet.

Pausing for a few seconds, she fiercely told herself, ’Just whack the fucker with your heel and run!’

Convincing herself that she was about to ambush a ghost, she tightened her grip on the six-inch stiletto before quietly pushing the bathroom door open and stepping inside.

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[Music recommendation: PIXIE-T - Nothing Compares To Me]

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But as her light grey eyes swept across the bathroom, she didn’t see any ghost. Instead, her gaze landed on the tall silhouette standing inside the glass shower enclosure at the far end of the bathroom. The glass was fogged over with thick steam, obscuring her vision.

As her eyes locked onto the figure under the running water, the panic and dread gripping her chest slowly began to melt away, replaced by a completely different kind of racing pulse.

Anticipation.

Lowering her heel, her feet began to move on their own until she stood directly outside the enclosure.

She didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but in the next second, she slid the glass door open.

A fresh wave of warm steam billowed out, swirling around her until her eyes finally met those familiar icy blue ones, which looked just as surprised to see her standing there.

Neither of them spoke. Neither of them moved.

The water continued to trickle down his handsome face, cascading over the sculpted planes of his body.... a sight she tried her absolute best not to stare at. Aliana herself was simply too stunned by her own boldness to even breathe.

Another rumble of thunder echoed through the sky outside, making her blink, and the heel slipped from her hand before a whisper escaped her lips.

"You’re here."

But Gavriel did not respond. His eyes remained locked on hers in a way that caused a flush of heat to spread rapidly across her body, even as he reached out to turn off the running water.

"R-right, I’ll leave you to it," she murmured softly, suddenly realising she had been shamelessly gawking at him while he was in the middle of a bath.

Just as she took a slow step backwards, a gasp left her lips.

Gavriel caught her by the wrist, pulling her firmly inside the shower enclosure. Her back met the wet surface of the wall. She parted her lips in question, but before a single word could form, he sealed her mouth with a searing, dominating kiss.

Aliana’s hands found the wet, bare surface of his chest. One of his hands gripped her jaw firmly while the other wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her flush against him and forcing her body to arch into his touch.

It took her a few seconds to process exactly what was happening, but soon she found herself burning under the heat of his dominating kiss.

As if completely under his spell, she didn’t even realise when her own lips began to move against his in return. Her hands, which had been offering a mild resistance against his chest, slid upward to wrap around his neck.

She could feel the powerful muscles of his neck shifting beneath her palms as his mouth continued to ravage hers, leaving her heavily intoxicated.

Aliana didn’t know why, but for some reason, she could feel the dangerous air surrounding him, something darker and more intense than usual. Yet instead of frightening her, it stirred something deep within her.

As if her own darkness, which had been hidden all this time, began to leak out of her, it coiled around her mind, body, and soul as she drove her tongue into his mouth before she even realised what she was doing. He met her instantly, his tongue tangling with hers in a sensual dance that neither of them wanted to escape.

She felt Gavriel’s movements grow harder... faster. He tangled his fingers into her hair, tugging just firmly enough to make her wince, but the devil gave her no time to dwell on the sting. The very next moment, he deepened the kiss and sucked on her tongue, coaxing a deep, pleasurable moan from her lips.

He caught her lower lip between his teeth, biting down and tugging lightly, sending a fierce shudder straight through her body.

Aliana felt herself getting lost in the sensation. She could feel her brain rapidly shedding every ounce of reason as Gavriel finally let go of her lips. He trailed wet, open-mouthed kisses down her jawline and along the column of her neck, before capturing the sensitive skin between her neck and shoulder and sucking hard against it.

"Ah!" A small whimper escaped her lips at the sudden sting, but her eyes rolled back the moment she felt his hot tongue soothing the very pain he had caused only seconds ago.

His hands trailed down her spine, coming to rest firmly on the round curves of her hips, while his mouth travelled lower toward her collarbone and the swell of her breasts, which peeked out slightly from the low cut of her cream satin nightie.

"Gav..."

Another weak gasp left her lips when he sank his teeth lightly into her soft swell, sucking hard on the supple skin as a low, rumbling growl vibrated in his chest.

He buried his face against her skin, and through the haze of her desire, she finally heard him whisper, "Let me taste you, Aliana."