The penthouse felt different after the screen went black.
Too quiet.
Not peaceful quiet.
The kind that settles after a storm when nobody knows what comes next.
Rain slid down the glass walls while the city lights shimmered below, distant and blurred. Somewhere downstairs, security teams were still moving through the building, voices low, footsteps controlled.
But inside the bedroom
Only Raziel and Rachel remained.
---
He hadn't let go of her waist yet.
Not since Seraphina disappeared from the screen.
Rachel noticed it immediately this time. The way his thumb moved absently against the fabric near her bandage, almost like he needed the contact to reassure himself she was still there.
Alive.
She looked down briefly at his hand.
Then back at him.
"You do that a lot."
Raziel's eyes lifted to hers.
"Do what?"
"Touch me like I'm about to disappear."
The corner of his mouth moved faintly, but it wasn't quite a smile.
"You almost did."
The answer came too easily. Too honestly.
And somehow that softened something inside her despite everything she was trying to hold onto.
---
Rachel leaned back carefully against the pillows.
"You know, normal couples probably argue about cheating."
Raziel pulled a chair closer beside the bed before sitting down.
"We're not normal."
"That's becoming painfully obvious."
This time he actually smiled a little. Small. Tired. Real.
God.
She hated how much she liked seeing him like this. Less untouchable billionaire. More man.
---
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The rain filled the silence naturally.
Rachel studied him quietly under the dim lights. The rolled sleeves. The loosened collar. The exhaustion sitting heavily behind his eyes.
He looked expensive even when ruined.
Annoying honestly.
---
"Does it hurt?" he asked suddenly, his gaze dropping toward her side.
"A little."
His jaw flexed slightly at the answer, but this time he didn't overreact.
Progress.
---
Rachel watched him for another second before speaking again.
"You really scared me earlier."
That got his attention immediately.
"When?"
"When you looked at me after I got shot."
A pause.
"You looked like you were about to destroy the world."
Raziel leaned back slightly in the chair, studying her face carefully.
"If you had died," he said quietly, "there wouldn't have been much left of it."
The words should've sounded dramatic.
Instead they sounded terrifyingly believable.
---
Rachel looked away first, suddenly aware of how warm the room felt.
How close he was sitting.
How easily he affected her.
"You always say things like that so casually."
"Because you still don't understand."
Her eyes returned to him slowly.
"Understand what?"
Raziel held her gaze for a long moment before answering.
"You became the center of my life before I even touched you."
There it was again.
That intensity.
That dangerous kind of devotion that should've sent her running.
Instead her pulse betrayed her completely.
---
He stood up then, moving toward the bed slowly. Not rushed. Not forceful.
Careful.
Always more careful with her now.
Rachel watched him stop beside her before his fingers brushed gently against her hair, moving a loose strand behind her ear.
The touch lingered slightly longer than necessary.
And suddenly the room felt much smaller.
---
"You should sleep," he murmured.
Rachel tilted her head a little.
"You staying?"
The question slipped out before she could stop it.
Raziel paused.
Not because he didn't want to.
Because he clearly did.
---
"I can leave if you want space."
Rachel stared at him for a second.
This powerful, feared man standing beside her bed asking permission like he was afraid of crossing a line.
It did something dangerous to her chest.
---
"…I didn't say that."
His gaze darkened slightly.
No arrogance.
No smugness.
Just quiet satisfaction.
---
Raziel moved carefully onto the bed beside her, keeping enough distance not to hurt her side. The mattress shifted gently under his weight.
Rachel suddenly became very aware of everything.
His scent.
The warmth radiating from him.
The roughness of his hand when it settled lightly over hers.
No pressure.
Just there.
---
"You're overthinking again," he said softly.
Rachel blinked.
"How do you know?"
"You keep staring at the ceiling when you're trapped in your head."
That surprised her.
"You notice things I don't even notice."
"I notice everything about you."
God.
There he went again.
---
Rachel let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head slightly.
"You're impossible."
"And yet."
"And yet nothing."
A faint smirk appeared this time.
"You're still holding my hand."
Rachel immediately tried pulling away.
Raziel caught her fingers before she could fully move. Not forcefully. Almost playful.
The shift in energy surprised her.
Lighter now.
Warmer.
---
For the first time in hours, she wasn't thinking about blood or guns or secrets.
Just him.
The man beside her.
The steady sound of his breathing.
The way he kept looking at her like she mattered more than anything else in the room.
---
Rachel's voice softened unconsciously.
"…Raziel."
"Hm?"
"If your family really comes after me…"
His expression changed immediately.
Cold focus returning.
But Rachel squeezed his hand before he could spiral back into that darkness.
"I'm not finished."
He stayed quiet.
---
"I don't want us spending whatever time we have left constantly fighting."
Something vulnerable flickered across his face at those words.
Then slowly, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss against her knuckles.
Gentle. Lingering.
"You still think I'm letting anyone take you from me."
Rachel looked at him carefully.
"And if one day you can't stop it?"
Raziel leaned closer this time, his forehead brushing lightly against hers.
The answer came low and certain.
"Then I go with you."
Rachel didn't realize how close they were until his breath brushed lightly against her lips.
The room had gone quiet again, but softer this time. The tension between them no longer felt sharp. It felt intimate. Dangerous in a completely different way.
Her fingers were still tangled with his.
Neither of them mentioned it.
---
Raziel's thumb moved slowly across her knuckles, absent-minded, like touching her had become instinct.
Rachel watched him carefully.
"You know what's unfair?"
His eyes lifted lazily toward hers.
"What?"
"You look calm after saying insane things."
A faint smile touched his mouth.
"I'm not calm."
"No?"
"No."
The honesty in his voice made her stomach flutter unexpectedly.
---
He leaned back slightly against the headboard while keeping hold of her hand. The city lights reflected faintly across his face, softening the sharpness that usually made him look untouchable.
Right now he just looked tired.
And oddly affectionate.
---
Rachel studied him for another second before asking quietly,
"Did you ever think this would happen?"
Raziel already knew what she meant.
Us.
---
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Rachel raised a brow.
"Not even once?"
"You were supposed to stay far away from me."
"But I didn't."
His gaze lowered briefly toward her lips before returning to her eyes.
"No."
There was something about the way he said it that made heat creep slowly into her chest.
Like he wasn't complaining about it at all.
---
Rachel shifted carefully against the pillows, wincing slightly from the pain in her side.
Raziel noticed instantly. Of course he did.
His expression tightened.
"You should stop moving."
"You say that every five minutes."
"Because every five minutes you ignore me."
She laughed softly under her breath.
"You're very bossy for somebody who's technically in trouble."
That earned her a longer look.
Then unexpectedly
Raziel moved closer again.
Not enough to crowd her.
Just enough for his hand to slide carefully along her waist, stopping right above the bandage.
Warm fingers.
Slow touch.
Rachel's breathing caught slightly before she could stop it.
Raziel noticed immediately.
Always.
---
His voice dropped lower.
"Still angry with me?"
Rachel held his gaze.
"Yes."
"And you still want me here?"
A pause.
"…yes."
Something shifted in his expression after that. Something quieter. Almost relieved.
Like he'd been expecting her to push him away eventually.
---
The rain outside grew heavier, wrapping the penthouse in a soft rhythm that made everything feel strangely distant from the chaos downstairs.
Rachel became aware of how warm his body felt beside hers.
How safe.
Which honestly felt ridiculous considering who he was.
---
Raziel brushed his fingers lightly beneath her chin, tilting her face toward him.
His eyes searched hers carefully before he kissed her again.
Slower this time.
No desperation.
No urgency.
Just intimacy.
The kind that sneaks up on you quietly.
Rachel melted into it before thinking too hard about whether she should. Her hand slid instinctively against his chest while his thumb traced gently along her jaw.
And for a few seconds
Nothing else existed.
Not the danger.
Not his family.
Not the lies between them.
Only this unbearable pull toward each other.
---
When he pulled back slightly, their foreheads rested together again.
Rachel's eyes stayed closed for a second longer than necessary.
Raziel noticed that too.
A soft exhale left him, almost amused.
"You like me more than you admit."
Rachel opened her eyes immediately.
"Don't ruin the moment."
That low laugh finally escaped him. Real this time. Warm enough to send another dangerous flutter through her chest.
God.
She was in serious trouble.
---
Then his hand slid lower carefully, resting against the curve of her stomach.
The movement was gentle enough to almost miss.
But Rachel felt it instantly.
So did he.
The atmosphere changed again.
Not tense.
Not awkward.
Just… emotional.
Raziel stared at his hand for a long second before speaking quietly.
"I almost lost both of you tonight."
Rachel's chest tightened.
The way he said both.
Like he already loved the baby as fiercely as he loved her.
---
She covered his hand slowly with hers.
"You didn't."
His eyes lifted toward her.
And for the first time all night, the hardness in them faded completely.
No mafia boss.
No billionaire empire.
No ruthless man feared across the city.
Just Raziel.
A man hopelessly in love.
---
He leaned down once more, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead before murmuring quietly against her skin:
"Stay with me tonight."
And somehow
That sounded more vulnerable than every dangerous promise he'd ever made.
---