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And there he was again, caught in a trance as he looked at her almost as if he could not get his fill of her. He devoured her with his gaze, and he could swear she devoured him back.
She tentatively reached out with her hand, her palm curving along his jaw as she licked her lips, her eyes glistening—with unshed tears?
Rafaelo frowned.
Yet he had no time to ponder about it, when strong arms wrenched him off of her, pulling him back.
Everyone was suddenly at her side, fussing over her as he was being dragged by the guards back to the barracks.
He kept staring at her as the blonde girl jumped in her arms, dusting her dress and demanding to know if she was alright.
He kept staring even as more people came, the guards barking orders and declaring whoever had set the scaffolding would be punished.
He just kept… staring.
All in the hopes that she would turn his way, give him at least a thank you if not a nod of acknowledgement. He wanted at least something, damn it!
So even as he was being forcibly removed from the premises, even as the distance between them grew, he kept staring.
But never once did she look his way.
five
“How is he?”Noelle jumped out of her chair as Lucero entered her apartment.
“Back at work in the temple,” Lucero confirmed. “He’s lucky the guards didn’t take more offense.”
“What do you mean?” She frowned.
“They don’t like it when people disobey.” Lucero shrugged, coming over to her side and laying a basket of food on the table. “He got off easy. They only threw him into solitary for a few days and shook him up a little.”
“Shook him up a little?” Noelle repeated, horrified. So much so that she was ready to dash outside just to get a glimpse of him, worried he might have been hurt.
“Calm down,” Lucero sighed. “He’s only a little bruised, nothing more. I’ve seen others disobey the guards and all things considered, he got away lightly.”
“A little bruised? Lulu!” Noelle exclaimed, pacing up and down the room. “The goal was to get attention off of him, not get him further hurt!”
“And you can’t intervene because you will put the attention back on him. Let it go, Noelle. From what I’ve seen, he can handle himself. He savedyou, remember?”
“I remember,” she murmured as a blush stained her cheeks.
How could she forget the most intense moment of her life? Almost a week had passed and she kept replaying the events of what had happened in her mind every second of the day. By now, she had to wonder if she hadn’t embellished her memory with the way he’d looked at her—the way he’dtouchedher.
God, but it had been the culmination of all her dreams to have him gaze upon her so intently, with so much worry. His body had been on top of hers and she didn’t think she’d felt more at home anywhere else. And when he’d tucked a strand of hair behind her ear? She’d been ready to swoon then and there.
Yet the moment had been over too quickly.
Before she’d been able to get her bearings together, he’d already been taken away. If it hadn’t been for Lucero whispering in her ear, to not do something she would later regret, she would have run to him.
Damn, but she really had too little self control when it came to him. She was thankful her friend was always there to save her from herself, but even so, she needed to be more careful in the future.
“Let’s eat and I’ll tell you what I saw,” Lucero said, taking a seat and spreading the food on the table.
Noelle listened attentively as her friend described how Rafaelo had looked when she’d seen him in the morning, and those little details helped her calm down.
He was safe. That was all that mattered.
“There’s an auction tomorrow,” Noelle added as she took a bite of bread. “I’m going to attend and get another man—someone I’m going to shower even more with attention. That way, Sergio should see that Rafaelo is not special.”
