Elara’s POV

That snapped me completely awake. "A ring?"

"Yeah. They’re matching..." Silas’s tone was casual, but I knew this gesture carried weight.

He took my hand, threading our fingers together. Even in the low light, I could see the two simple bands on our fingers catching the glow.

"Baby, did you miss me while I was gone?" Silas’s voice was barely a whisper. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Silas never wasted time with just words. He talked sweet, but his hands were already in motion. His large palm wrapped around my smaller one, and before I could even think of an answer, he tugged me against his chest.

His breath was hot against my shoulder. He kissed and bit his way up to my ear, then stopped.

I melted in his arms, completely frozen. Silas knew exactly what he was doing. I was still half-asleep, and his mouth left me dizzy, totally helpless.

"You’re terrible," I whispered, my voice even softer than when I’d called him Si.

Silas cupped my face with both hands and crushed his lips to mine.

I was soft and warm, my voice tender—how could he possibly resist? He couldn’t, not even close.

"Mmm, I’m terrible," he murmured against my mouth. "So... can I have you, baby?"

Silas was completely lost in me. His hot breath at my ear drained every ounce of strength from my body. He held himself back, waiting for my yes, his controlled, rough breathing mixing with his kisses.

My eyes fluttered shut. My hands slid down his tight stomach, up to his neck. He felt incredible. My thoughts finally went quiet, leaving nothing but pure want. My hands started exploring.

I didn’t speak. I answered him with my touch.

Feeling my small movements, Silas’s eyes blazed. He bent down to kiss me again, our fingers locking tight together.

*****

I slept hard afterward. I was sprawled across Silas, my head on his shoulder. Silas pulled the covers over us. We lay tangled together, warm and perfectly fitted.

Early in the morning, a message buzzed from Finnian.

Finnian sent, "Morning." With some cute emoji.

Silas grabbed my phone and grinned at the screen.

He replied, "Not for us. She’s still sleeping in my arms..."

It seemed his logic was that if you were going to hit someone, you should go for what hurts most.

The instant he sent the voice message, he added a photo.

In the shot, I was sleeping peacefully on top of him.

——

Finnian sat stone-faced on his couch. He looked composed outside, but he was burning inside.

This time, Finnian almost hurled his phone. Two could play this game.

——

Elara’s POV

I woke up right after he sent the message. But Silas was sneaky. He erased it immediately after sending, covering his tracks completely.

"Morning, baby. Sleep good?" Silas whispered. He carefully lifted me and slipped out of bed to get my clothes.

I didn’t answer, just stared into space. Damn, that was incredible... but my heart’s still pounding.

I lazily opened my eyes and saw Silas, bare-chested, selecting my outfit.

His chest, back, and neck were covered in scratches, love bites, and teeth marks. A complete disaster.

I rubbed my nose. I’d completely lost it last night and just couldn’t stop myself.

"Underwear’s in the bottom drawer, pants left side of the closet, jackets on the right, dresses in the middle, condoms on top, socks in the box bottom right..."

It was Alistair’ voice. He stood nearby, the red light on his chest pulsing gently.

Claiming territory? Anyone could play that game.

"Alistair?!" Silas ground out through clenched teeth, his fake smile barely masking his fury. I could see the furious realization in his eyes: this snake knew way too much.

Alistair looked at him and completely ignored him. He glided over to me and smoothly pulled my hair into a neat style.

"Morning, Elara," Alistair said.

"Morning."

I blushed a little, feeling awkward.

It wasn’t having both of them here that made me cringe. I was freaking out about when Alistair had shown up.

Was he here last night? Did he just watch me screw that rabbit the whole time?

Silas would’ve loved that.

I thought that if that was true, I might as well just die.

Alistair tapped my forehead softly. "What are you overthinking? I just arrived. I came to ask what you want for breakfast. I’ll cook it."

I exhaled in relief. "A sandwich."

"Got it. Want juice?"

"Yes!"

Silas snapped a table leg clean in half with his bare hand. He looked up at the ceiling.

He looked as though he was realizing the fox wasn’t the worst; this snake was.

Back at the sanatorium, they could at least fake being civil. Now? They only felt disgust, competition, and pure hatred when they looked at each other.

"Then I’ll go get started," Alistair said. "I already picked the strawberries. You’re delivering them today, right? You can bring them along. It’s getting late. I’ll go make breakfast."