Page 54 of Knot Your Sugar

As we lie tangled in the butter-soft Egyptian cotton sheets of my oversized bed, the only sounds in the room are our slowing heartbeats and the soft, even rhythm of our breathing.

The air smells of sex and something I can now fully pick out.

Ripe peach… mixed with some kind of honeyed fruit.

When did her smell get so distinct?

"I should probably head home," she murmurs, cutting straight through my thoughts. But she doesn’t move.

Right. Tomorrow is the competition. I go back to being Judge Beaumont, and she goes back to being contestant Elena Avery.

"Stay," I find myself saying, the word escaping before my logical brain can censor it.

She looks up at me then, her eyes shining in the dim moonlight filtering in from the bay window. "Dorian, I can’t," she whispers. "I can’t just… waltz into the festival tomorrow morning wearing this dress... and coming out from one of your cars. People will talk."

I know she’s right. But the thought of her leaving, of this perfect bubble of intimacy bursting, makes my chest ache with a sharp pang of loss. "Let me arrange for a car, then," I say reluctantly, already reaching for my phone on the nightstand. "Marcus can drive you."

"Not the Bentley again, Dorian," she says quickly, a hint of amusement in her voice. "That’s about as discreet as a marching band. Do you have anything… less obvious? Something that doesn’t scream ‘I just spent the night with a billionaire’?"

I nod, a reluctant smile touching my lips. "Understood. I’ll have Marcus bring the Honda. It’s practically invisible." I make the call, keeping my voice low, arranging for the car.

As she begins to gather her discarded clothes, moving gracefully around my ridiculously huge bedroom, I watch her, a strange, unfamiliar feeling settling in my chest. She looks… right here. Like she belongs. Like this room, this house, this life, has been waiting for her, even if neither of us knew it.

"Elena," I call out softly, just as she reaches for her dress.

She turns, her hair a glorious, tousled halo around her beautiful face. I cross the room to her in three long strides. Before she can speak, I pull her into my arms and kiss her with everything I have left. She melts against me, her arms winding around my neck, pulling me closer, closer still. And for one perfect, timeless moment, nothing else exists.

As we finally break apart, both of us breathless and trembling, I walk her to the waiting car. Before slipping into the back seat, she glances over her shoulder, her green eyes like Imperial Jade in the soft pool of driveway light.

"Thank you," she says simply, her voice a little shaky. "For tonight. For… for everything, Dorian."

And then she’s gone, the unassuming Honda disappearing silently down my long, winding driveway. I stand there longerthan strictly necessary, already counting the seconds until I can see her again tomorrow at the festival.

But as I finally turn back toward the house, something strange nags at the edge of my thoughts.

Her scent. That peachy, golden richness. And how she so… effortlessly took me.

Could she—? But then I'd…

I pull out my phone, my fingers scrolling through my contacts, stopping on a name, a number I haven’t used in years. A specialist.

The phone rings twice before it’s answered by a crisp, professional voice. "Mr. Beaumont. This is… unexpected. How can I be of assistance?"

I glance down the empty drive. "I need something. Urgently."

Chapter twenty-eight

Elena

I wake up from a sleep so deep it feels like I’ve been marinating in contentment.

I stretch languidly, every muscle in my body humming a tune of delicious, well-earned soreness. A slow, secret smile curves my lips. Dorian. Last night. His villa. The stars.Mon Dieu…

Right now, all I feel is a warm, fuzzy glow. A bit tired, yes, in that deeply satisfied, bone-weary way, but also strangely, wonderfully energized. It’s like my whole being has been plugged into some high-voltage cosmic charger.

Humming a cheerful, slightly off-key tune, I pad barefoot into the kitchen, my mind already replaying some highlights from the past few days. Cole's strength and the way he makes me feel safe. James dropping his facade and our moments in the hot springs. And Dorian. God, last night…

Everything that should feel complicated somehow feels... right. And I’m enjoying it all.

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