This chapter includes suggestive content, emotional intimacy, and mature scenes. Please read at your comfort level.
---
Adrian's declaration hung between them like a vow sealed in fire. "I'm choosing you."
The words had barely left his lips before he claimed her mouth again, deeper this time, more possessive.
His kiss was hungry, almost desperate, weeks of worry, violence, and suppressed need pouring into every stroke of his tongue. Raya gasped against his lips, her body arching instinctively as he settled more fully over her on the massive bed.
But when his hand slid down her side, brushing over the towel that barely covered her, reality pierced through the heat.
"Wait..." she breathed, pulling back just enough to speak. Her fingers pressed lightly against his bandaged chest. "Adrian… your wounds. You're still bleeding. We can't..."
"They don't matter."
