HEARTLESS─── RAFE CAMERON [1]

chapter twenty nine

I don't really know where I'm running. I just let my legs take me. I don't know if Rafe is running after me. He probably isn't. God, I must look like such an idiot, running off the dance floor like this. But I need to clear my head— find a moment of solitude.

I find myself in the middle of the garden, an extension of the venue that no one really ventures near. Everyone usually stays near the large villa where the most of the Midsummers festivities are held. But the garden...it looks straight out of a dream.

The air is cool and refreshing. Moonlight filters through the leaves, casting patterns on the ground. I find a swing nestled between a canopy of trees, held up by vines. I sink down onto it before eventually tucking my feet up and lie back. The swing starts to sway back and forth. I close my eyes, my breathing finally steadying. I can hear the music from the villa somewhere in the background.

Minutes pass in a blur. I'm not sure how long I sit there, lost in exhaustion and my own thoughts, until I hear the crinkle of leaves and the snap of a twing.

"Vandenburg." Opening my eyes, I see Rafe standing a few feet away.

I sit up straight. "What are you doing here?"

He doesn't answer my question. "Are you okay?" he asks, taking a tentative step closer.

I nod, unable to meet his gaze. "Yeah, I just...needed some air."

Rafe approaches the bench slowly. His footsteps echo in the quiet garden. Instinctively, I start to stand up, creating some distance between us. But before I can take more than a few steps, Rafe's hand shoots out, gripping mine tightly.

"Will you not listen?" He demands, his voice low and intense. His eyes bore into mine, and I feel a shiver run down my spine. And although it was never my intention, I slowly moved closer until we were nothing more than a foot apart.

His fingers loosened slightly around my wrist, but then they tugged, pulling me back onto the swing I was just on.

"Lux," he whispered.

His hand snaked up my arm. Then past the wispy silk of my sleeve, and finally around my back, pulling me closer. The silk of my dress was soft and flimsy beneath his fingers, I knew that. He could feel every part of me.

"I need to talk to you," he says.

"I— I don't think—"

My nails dug tiny crescents in my palms.

I could feel the heat of his body radiating against mine. We were so close I was practically on top of him. Every nerve in my body seemed to thrum with anticipation. I wanted what he wanted— but a part of me relished in the torture of the moment.

I opened my mouth to speak— to say something— but no sound came out. A smile slashed across Rafe's face.

I'd suspected this would happen, that I would push Rafe past his breaking point. But then his hand gripped the two sides of my face tightly. And I knew what was going to happen. I just didn't react in time.

He moved so fast I didn't get the chance to draw another breath before he yanked me against him and crushed his mouth against mine.

My world as I knew it shattered into a million pieces.

Shock glued my body firm to the swing. I couldn't formulate a response. No words, no movement, just utter disbelief and disturbing heat that raced through my body. The pounding in my heart spread until it throbbed in every part of me— my head, my throat, between my legs...

Rafe curled his hand around the back of my neck, holding me still while he kissed me feverishly hard. He kissed the way we fought. Hard. Explosive. I hated how much I loved it.