The Foiled Plan (War of Sins Book 2)

I can only stare at him in shock.

‘Not my business…’ I shake my head, trying to bite back tears. ‘You’re an asshole, Rafaelo Guerra.’ I push at him with all my strength. ‘You’re a fucking asshole,’ I say as I bring my heel down on his foot in an attempt to extricate myself from his hold.

Already I feel my lashes coated in tears, and no matter how much I try to, I can’t blink them away.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’ He calls after me.

‘Let me go,’ I grit as he wraps his hand around my wrist.

‘Noelle, you’re…’

‘I’m being unreasonable. I know,’ I add drily. ‘Just let go of my hand.’

‘I don’t understand why you’re so moody.’

‘Moody?’ I scoff, looking at him in disbelief. ‘Next you’re going to call me hysterical, no?’

For God’s sake, why did I believe his words when it’s clear he’s just like my brother. After all, that’s all I am—unreasonable, moody, crazy.

Wrenching my hand from his grasp, I don’t even think as I open the door, dashing into the downpour.

‘Fucking hell, woman! Where do you think you’re going?’ He yells after me, and in no time I find myself flush against his naked chest.

‘Look at me, Noelle.’

‘Let me go,’ I whimper. ‘Just please let me go.’

‘Where do you want to go? There’s nowhere you can go, pretty girl,’ he says on a gentler tone, his palm spread over my neck, his thumb pushing my chin up as he forces me to look at him.

My teeth are clattering, my entire body freezing as the cold rain hits my skin, but I don’t let that stop me.

‘As far away from you,’ I manage the words out.

‘Damn it, Noelle. Why do you have to be so stubborn?’ he grits, the tension in his jaw clear as he barely holds himself together.

‘I don’t know why you tried being nice to me,’ I start, willing myself to stay strong. ‘I don’t know why you changed your behavior overnight, but I don’t want any part in it.’

‘Noelle…’

‘No, Raf,’ I press my lips together in an attempt to ground myself and stop shivering. ‘You’re actually driving me crazy,’ I force a laugh. ‘And not in a good way. You’re absolutely infuriating. You threaten to make me miserable and kill me. Then you do a one-eighty and promise you’ll always protect me. But I don’t know where I stand with you. I really don’t.’ I take a deep breath. ‘I just… Let me be. Just let me be,’ the last words are on a breathless whisper.

His light eyes are shielded by the night, only a slight glint visible among the moon beams. The intensity in his eyes should scare me—it should terrify me.

But it doesn’t.

Not when I find myself lost in them—a labyrinth I never want to escape.

His nostrils flare as he looks down on me, aggression rolling off him in rippling waves.

We’re both breathing hard.

Inhale. Exhale.

The sound of the marauding rain dims and dims, suddenly a distant echo.

There’s only my heart thumping.

His heart thumping.

Because somehow I can hear it. Somehow I can hear all those conflicting emotions within him.

And then it stops.

‘Fuck it,’ he curses out, and before I know it, his lips are on mine.

His hands cup my cheeks as he forces me into him, his mouth opening on top of mine.

Lips against lips. Teeth clashing against teeth. Yet it’s the feel of him—his taste, scent and touch—that does it for me. It makes me melt into him, the rain completely forgotten as the shelter of his body provides me with everything I ever wanted.

He’s the cure I didn’t know I needed, and deep in the recesses of my very soul, I feel him with an intensity that scares me. One that shakes my dormant essence awake, spurring it into being instead of existing.

Just like that. One touch of his lips and I see stars erupt, universes being formed, and me… I see myself taking shape as never before, a part of me emerging to the surface, ready to meet him on common ground.

One hand moves lower, to my rib cage and the curve of my waist, his fingers grabbing on to me and bringing me even closer, molding our bodies together as he feasts on my mouth like a starved man.

I don’t know what I’m doing.

One moment I’m about to push him away, the next I’m holding tight, wounding my arms around his neck and raising myself on my tiptoes to meet him halfway.

The kiss is explosive—everything I would have ever thought a kiss should be and more. And in spite of the coldness of the night, I only feel heat.

Hot, scorching heat low in my belly, the sensation making my toes curl as I seek to close the distance between us even more—though it’s not physically possible. An increasing need takes shape within me, one that dictates I should merge with him, that my place is only with him—become one with him.

One moment the world is within my grasp, the next it’s gone. I feel bereft to my soul at the absence of his touch, his lips no longer mine.

‘What…’ I mumble as I open my eyes to find him staring at me.

‘Collecting my boon,’ he whispers, brushing aside a wet strand from my face.

His expression is a mix of awe and confusion as he continues to look at me like he’s never seen me before.

But I can’t ponder that. Not when I feel too lightheaded from the kiss.

Swooping me in his arms, he brings me back to the cottage, closing the door behind him and setting me on the small bed.

‘I want you to take your dress off and put this on.’ He hands me a small blanket. ‘I won’t look if that’s what you want. But you need to take off the wet clothes so you don’t catch a cold. Understand?’ His tone is gentle yet firm, and I find myself nodding.

Maybe I am still reeling from the kiss, but I don’t protest as I quietly remove my dress and fashion the blanket around me in a Grecian style by tying it around my shoulders. I take off everything that’s wet, including the scrap of material he’d used to bandage my wound. Feeling for the gash, I realize it stopped hurting, so I leave it alone.

His back is to me as he awaits my signal, and I feel touched by his regard.

‘You can turn,’ I say softly.

‘Good,’ he notes approvingly as his eyes survey my form. ‘Now I’m going to take my pants off,’ he warns, raising a brow at me. He’s both telling me to turn away and daring me to look at the same time.

Alas, I’ve never been able to say no to a challenge.

‘Go ahead,’ I try to act unbothered as I urge him to undress.

As I snuggle deeper in the heat of my blanket, a frissons still travels down my back as I follow his movements closely.

His hands on his belt, he first takes that off before moving to his zipper, slowly lowering it. My breath catches in my throat as I watch him pull down his pants to his ankles before getting out of them. He’s wearing a pair of black boxer briefs and…

I gulp down, whipping my eyes to his face.

An arrogant smile pulls at his lips.

‘I shouldn’t leave anything on,’ he declares in an amused tone, his hands on the band of his boxers.

I immediately turn, heat burning in my cheeks. Because I peeked—for far longer than I should have.

His laugh echoes in the room and in no time he’s by my side, a blanket draped around his shoulders. The barest hint of his chest is visible, but something catches my attention.

It’s bare. There’s nothing. No necklace.

He’s worn that necklace religiously until now, and to see him without it…

My eyes meet his, the question written all over my face.

‘Scoot over,’ he tells me.

I do, though I keep silent, my thoughts a whirlpool of confusion.

Staring at the fire, I think of the best way to approach this, since clearly any question about Sisi pisses him off. The topic of Lucero should be even more off limits…

‘I messed up,’ he starts in an apologetic tone. ‘I didn’t realize how important it was for you to know.’

I open my mouth to say something but he shushes me.

‘Sisi was my friend. We were never anything but friends. We only decided to get married because she got pregnant.’

‘Wait. You got her pregnant?’ My eyes must be the size of two saucers as I stare at him.

‘What? No, of course not. Not me,’ he rolls his eyes at me as if I just spouted the biggest nonsense, and that alone puts me more at peace than anything. ‘She was having some issues with Vlad at the time. Anyway, our marriage was supposed to be one in name only. I’ve never seen her as more than just a friend.’

‘But she’s very pretty,’ I counter.

‘She is. But I’m not attracted to her. I never was. At the time, she was an easy solution to get my father off my back. He was pressuring me to marry and it sounded like the best option.’

‘See, you could have said that from the beginning. I don’t understand why we had to fight over it.’

‘My, my,’ he smirks. ‘You were jealous, weren’t you?’

‘So what if I was?’ I raise my eyebrows at him. ‘It’s your fault for not clarifying it.’

‘Now you understand what I feel every time I see another man hover around you,’ his voice changes to a raspier cadence.

‘You’re still an asshole,’ I pout, nabbing him in his side with my elbow.

‘Fuck,’ he groans out loud.

‘Come on, I didn’t hit you that…’ I pause mid-sentence as I realize I hit him in the same place he’d been injured earlier.

‘I’m so sorry,’ I quickly say, getting to my knees in front of him to check on his wound.

‘How did I forget about this?’ I mutter to myself as I pull on his blanket, revealing a cut between his ribs.

‘Stay put,’ I order, sure I’d seen a first aid kit somewhere.

‘It’s not a big deal,’ he calls out, but I ignore him as I rummage through the closet, finding a small white box with a red cross on it.

‘It will be if it gets infected.’

Holding my blanket together, I assume a position between his legs so that I’m on eye level with his wound.

And when I push his blanket more to the side, I realize he kept his underwear on.

‘I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,’ he mumbles, the hint of a blush on his cheeks.

My mouth pulls in a smile at his thoughtfulness, though that doesn’t mean he’s forgiven. He needs to understand that his hot and cold behavior doesn’t work on me. I want us to set straight terms that we will abide by.

‘Let me see,’ I push his hands aside as I squint to get a better view of the injury. ‘It’s not too bad,’ I note.

‘See, I told you it was just a scratch.’

‘Good thing we have this so it won’t become a problem later,’ I add as I wave a bottle of disinfectant. As I pour some over his chest, his eyes close, his mouth parting slightly as he holds in the pain.

Focusing on the injured area, I make sure to clean all the debris before bandaging the wound.

‘Done,’ I quip, satisfied with my work.

When I look up, I find him staring at me with an odd expression. His eyes look glazed with a mix of want and confusion, but most of all an unquenched desire that must mirror my own.

‘Why… Why are you looking at me like that?’ I make the mistake of asking. As soon as the words are out of my mouth, he’s on me, his big hands cupping my midriff and pulling me in his lap. My spread legs go on either side of him, my core making contact with his hardness.

‘I’m not the only one hurt,’ his fingers brush against my forehead.

‘Oh, I forgot about that,’ I admit, raising my hand to feel for the wound.

Keeping me balanced in his lap, he takes some disinfectant and gently dabs at the wound, cleaning it before applying a small bandage to it.

‘Why is it that you’re always worrying about others first?’ He asks after he’s done.

He doesn’t allow me to move, keeping me trapped on top of him, his body emanating an intoxicating heat that makes me want to purr happily as I nuzzle against his chest.

‘I don’t know,’ I give a slight shrug.

‘Good that you have me now,’ he whispers as he scans my face. ‘I’ll take care of you,’ he murmurs, bringing his face closer to mine.

Our noses are almost touching as I peer at him from beneath my lashes, overwhelmed by the emotions he awakens in me. His expression mirrors my own, the blue of his eyes steeped in turmoil, want and promises of both pleasure and pain.

‘One kiss,’ he rasps, resting his forehead against mine. ‘Just one kiss… What the fuck are you doing to me, Noelle?’

‘I…’ I don’t know what he’s asking of me. Not when my own mind echoes his sentiments.

‘I hate this,’ the vehemence in his voice startles me. ‘I hate that you make me feel so powerless. That I want you so much I can barely sleep at night. That I want to tie you to me so that you’re never hurt, always protected. Fuck, Noelle… I hate that I don’t know what you’re thinking. If you even…’

‘If I what?’ I ask breathlessly.

‘If you want me as much as I want you,’ he says quietly, though his eyes burn a hole through me, the fire I see in them only stoking the flames that are already flaring inside of me.

Bringing my teeth over my lower lip, I bite it, my gaze on him.

‘I do,’ I whisper softly. ‘I want you… So much, Raf…’

Cupping my nape, he swallows my words, his lips on mine in an intoxicating kiss that proves the previous one hadn’t been a fluke. No, the same suffocating want bursts inside of me at the contact—one that’s never enough. He opens his mouth on top of mine, his tongue probing at my lips, and I tentatively part my lips too, enjoying the taste of him.

I brush my open mouth against his, a tremor going down my body at the feel of his silken tongue as it caresses my lips. His arm snakes around my waist as he molds me to his chest, a sliver of pleasure going through me when I grind against him.

‘Kiss me back, damn it!’ He leans back, watching me through hooded eyed.

‘What do you mean?’ I ask softly, dazed from being this close to him, enveloped in his scent and him.

‘Kiss me back, Noelle,’ he rasps, his thumb parting my lips as he stares at my mouth. ‘Put me out of my misery,’ his voice takes an anguished tone.

‘I… I don’t know how,’ I reluctantly admit, lowering my gaze in embarrassment.

‘Hey, don’t,’ he tips my chin up. ‘Don’t go shy on me,’ his tone is gentle, his gaze caressing me with so much warmth a tingle starts to unfurl in my lower belly. ‘Tell me what you mean by that.’

‘I don’t remember kissing someone before,’ I whisper.

‘Noelle,’ he brushes his fingers against my cheek, his mouth pulling up in a tender smile. ‘You never have to be embarrassed with me. Never with me. Ok? I’m not going to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to.’

‘Ok,’ I nod.

‘Good,’ he smirks. ‘Now follow my lead,’ he says as he pulls me in, his mouth open and hovering on top of mine. I comply, opening mine too. There’s a tiny space between our faces, our breaths mingling, but we’re not yet touching. His tongue darts out to lick my lips before probing deeper inside my mouth.

‘Give it to me, Noelle,’ he demands harshly, and I finally get what he means.

I bring my tongue into contact with his, and a groan escapes him at the first touch.

‘Just like that, baby,’ he speaks softly against my mouth before plundering it.

There’s no other word to describe the action as his tongue probes deep within my mouth. I meet it with mine, stroking it tentatively at first before gaining more courage.

A thrill envelops me as I give in to this newly discovered pleasure, the magic of the kiss spreading all the way to my toes. I open deeper, letting him conquer me before I reciprocate, attacking him in a slow battle of give and take. Our tongues waltz around each other just as we’d had on the dance floor—wildly and out of control, proper etiquette all but forgotten.

His hands go down my back, his nails slowly raking over my skin and making me shudder with pleasure. I whimper, bringing my pelvis closer into contact with his just as he sucks my tongue in his mouth, the action positively decadent.

A small gasp escapes me as his teeth start to glide over my bottom lip, alternating between small bites and nibbles. My eyes snap shut and I feel his wet, warm mouth laying open kisses all over my jaw before going lower, down my neck as he continues to suck and bite, leaving his mark all over me.

‘Raf,’ I can’t believe the sound that escapes my lips, so full and throaty and so unlike me.

‘Fuck. Me,’ he rasps. ‘What the hell are you doing to me, Noelle?’ he asks, his voice tinged with awe.

I wish I could answer him. There’s nothing normal about the way I feel when I’m close to him—when my skin meets his skin. One touch and my entire mind goes blank until all I can think of is him.

Raf.

My Raf.

Now, my husband.

Mine.