Page 36 of Demon Daddy's Nanny

Ridwan's shoulders tense at my approach, but he doesn't turn. "Eva." My name falls from his lips like a warning.

I ignore it. Moving closer, I watch the muscles in his back ripple as his wings shift. He's wearing a simple black shirt, sleeves rolled to expose bronze forearms. The scar on his cheek catches the moonlight, a silver slash across his stern features.

"Look at me." The words come out stronger than I expect.

He turns, golden eyes blazing. "You shouldn't be here."

I close the distance between us. His breath catches, but he doesn't step back. Up close, I see the shadows under his eyes, the way his hands grip the balcony rail.

"I'm exactly where I should be."

Before he can protest, before duty or rank or fear can build more walls between us, I rise on my toes and press my lips to his. For one heartbeat, he's stone-still. Then his wings snap forward, curling around us both as his hands find my waist.

His kiss is desperate, hungry. Nothing like the controlled facade he shows the world. I tangle my fingers in his dark waves, drawing him closer as his wings block out the stars.

His fingers dig into my waist, pulling me against the solid wall of his chest. The heat of him burns through my thin nightdress as his wings cocoon us in darkness. My heart thunders against my ribs, matching the fierce rhythm I feel beneath my palms as I slide them down his chest.

Ridwan growls into my mouth, the sound vibrating through me. His tongue sweeps across my lower lip and I open for him, gasping as he deepens the kiss. One of his hands slides up my back, tangling in my braid, while the other grips my hip hard enough to bruise.

I arch into him, needing more, needing everything. His wings tighten around us, blocking out the world until there's nothing but his taste, his touch, the way he consumes me like he's beenstarving. The controlled leader is gone, replaced by raw hunger that matches my own.

"Eva," he breathes against my lips, my name a broken prayer. His forehead presses to mine, golden eyes blazing with desire and something deeper, darker. The scar on his cheek feels rough under my fingertips as I trace it.

Instead of pulling away this time, he captures my mouth again. The kiss is savage, desperate - like he's finally letting go of the chains he's wrapped around himself. His wings tremble against my back, feathers rustling with barely contained power.

I rake my nails down his chest and he shudders, breaking the kiss to trail his lips down my neck. The scrape of his teeth makes me gasp. My fingers find purchase in his dark waves as he marks my skin, claiming me with each heated touch.

"I want this," I manage between ragged breaths. "I want you."

His answer is another searing kiss, his massive frame caging me against the balcony rail. The stone digs into my back but I barely notice, lost in the way his tongue slides against mine, in how his wings block out even the moonlight until there's nothing but us and this hunger we've denied for too long.

His kiss devours me, but beneath the fierce passion, reality starts seeping in like ice water through my veins. My fingers tremble against his chest as the weight of what we're doing crashes over me. This isn't just a kiss - it's a rebellion against everything that keeps our worlds separate.

Ridwan's wings tighten, golden feathers brushing my arms as he pulls me closer. The heat of him burns away my fears for a moment, replaced by the intoxicating slide of his tongue against mine. His hand cups my face, thumb tracing my jaw with a gentleness that contrasts the desperate way he claims my mouth.

But even as I arch into him, even as my body sings with triumph at finally having what I've craved, dread coils in mystomach. The consequences ripple outward like stones dropped in still water - his position, my status, Annalise caught between us. Each thought hits harder than the last.

His teeth graze my lower lip and I gasp, torn between pushing closer and pulling away. The strength in his arms, the power radiating from his massive frame - it reminds me of exactly who he is. What he is. A xaphan, a leader, while I'm just a human who dared reach above her station.

My heart pounds against my ribs, no longer just from desire. Each beat seems to whisper warnings. I've crossed a line that can't be uncrossed. Challenged a hierarchy that's existed for centuries. The same fire that drove me here now feels like it might consume us both.

But when Ridwan's lips trail down my neck, when his wings create a golden cage around us, I can't bring myself to regret it. Let them judge. Let them whisper. I've spent too long being invisible, being less. His kiss tastes like defiance, like finally claiming something that's mine, even if it shatters everything around us.

21

RIDWAN

The taste of Eva's lips is an addiction I can't resist. This time, I won't run. This time, I let the fire consume me. My hands grip her waist, lifting her with a strength born of need rather than training. Her small gasp breaks our kiss for a heartbeat as I press her against the balcony railing, the metal cool against her back.

My wings unfurl, golden feathers catching the night air, surrounding us in a cocoon of warmth. Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, and I growl into her mouth. The sound is primal, possessive - everything I've tried to lock away.

"Eva." Her name tears from my throat as I break the kiss to trail my lips down her neck. She arches against me, and the movement sends lightning through my veins. My hands slide down her sides, memorizing every curve, every shiver.

I've denied this for too long. Denied her. Denied myself. The weight of my responsibilities, my past, my failures - they all fade against the heat of her skin under my palms. My self-control splinters with each soft sound she makes.

Her legs wrap around my waist, and I press closer, pinning her more firmly against the railing. The height doesn't matter -I'd never let her fall. One hand cradles the back of her head while the other grips her hip, fingers digging into soft flesh through her dress.

"Ridwan," she breathes against my mouth, and the sound of my name on her lips breaks something loose in my chest. I capture her mouth again, harder this time, pouring years of loneliness and want into the kiss. She meets my intensity with her own, her hands now gripping my shoulders as if she's afraid I'll disappear.

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