They arrived at the ball to find Andrew already presiding over the festivities, his commanding presence drawing every eye in the grand hall. But the moment he caught sight of Annabella, his composure cracked, a sharp intake of breath, eyes widening before he schooled his features and turned to invite guests onto the dance floor.
Rea noticed. So did half the room. Every gaze seemed to snag on Annabella like moths to flame.
"Gods," Rea muttered, her jaw tight as she scanned the room. "Are you actually this devastating, or is everyone here just starving?"She turned to Annabella, eyes blazing with possessive heat. "I know you're gorgeous, but tonight you look like sin wrapped in pearls. I'm going to have to lock you away somewhere remote. Can they at least pretend they're not mentally undressing you?"
Annabella's lips curved into a wicked smile. She took Rea's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor with deliberate grace. "Then dance with me. Remind them who I belong to."
A waltz began, elegant and sweeping. Annabella moved like water in Rea's arms, utterly magnetic.
"Remember dance classes?" Annabella teased, her voice light. "You and Issey looked like lost sheep trying to find your way home."
Rea's hand tightened on her waist as she spun Annabella expertly, drawing her back flush against her body. "We were distracted. Too busy checking out girls."
Annabella's eyebrow arched, playful but sharp. "Girls? Plural? Should I be jealous?"
Rea's expression shifted, caught, vulnerable for just a moment. "Issey was looking at girls." Her voice dropped lower, intimate despite the crowd. "I only ever looked at you. Still do. Only you."
Something in Annabella's chest tightened. "I wouldn't blame you if you did look elsewhere," she said quietly, a shadow passing over her features. "Arthur certainly did. Women surrounded him constantly, even after our betrothal."
Rea pulled her into another spin, then brought her so close their foreheads nearly touched. "Listen to me." Her voice was rough, fervent. "I don't have enough heart to hold everything I feel for you. It spills over, Bella. I'm drowning in how much I love you—madly, completely, impossibly."
Annabella's breath caught. She laughed softly, blinking back the emotion threatening to break through. "The madly part? Oh, I absolutely believe that."
Before Rea could respond, Andrew materialized beside them. "Annabella, might I have a word?"
Rea's grip tightened reflexively. "Now?"
"It's important." Andrew's tone left no room for argument.
Annabella squeezed Rea's hand. "I'll only be a moment."
Rea's eyes tracked her all the way to the balcony until Shawn, that mountain of a man, pressed a drink into her hand and pulled her back into the party with a knowing grin.
***
On the balcony, the moonlight painted everything silver. Andrew stood with his back to the party, voice low and urgent.
"We have an opening. Two days from now. You need to decide, Annabella. Now."
Annabella wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold despite the warm night. "Do whatever it takes to keep Rea safe." Her voice was steady, final. "I'll follow the plan."
Andrew reached out, taking her hand gently. "You're doing the right thing. The brave thing."
She pulled away sharply, stepping back as she hugged herself tighter. "I just hope she doesn't hate me for it. That's all I can hope for now."
Andrew moved closer, too close. "You shouldn't... be intimate with Rea. Not now. Not out of desperation."
Annabella's head snapped up, her violet eyes flashing dangerously. The air around her seemed to sharpen. "Excuse me?"
"I only mean—"
"What happens between Rea and me in our bedchamber is Private." Her voice was soft, but it cut like glass. "You have no right to involve yourself there, Andrew. None."
He tried again, his tone maddeningly gentle. "I'm thinking of Rea. Giving her a taste of heaven only to rip it away... it's cruel."
Annabella stepped forward, and suddenly she was the predator. "Is this concern for Rea?"Her voice dropped to a whisper, deadly and knowing. "Or is this about you?"
Andrew froze.
"I can smell your pheromones from here," she continued, her smile cold and beautiful. "I can practically hear your thoughts. They're loud, Andrew. Deafening."She leaned in just close enough to make him flinch. "I am not Helene. I will never be Helene. Remember that."
Andrew bowed stiffly, his face a mask of confusion and frustration, and retreated.
If they'd been alone, he would have kissed her. They both knew it.
***
Rea found Annabella minutes later, standing in the moonlight that turned her gown luminous, ethereal. She looked like a goddess carved from starlight.
"Lost in thought?" Rea's voice was soft, but it still startled her.
Annabella turned, and Rea moved close, sliding her arms around Annabella's waist from behind, pulling her back against her chest.
"All my life," Rea began, her voice barely above a murmur, "I've lived in uncertainty. I've been split down the middle—two halves of power I could never fully control, never fully trust." She paused, her breath warm against Annabella's neck. "But there's one thing I'm certain of. One truth I've never questioned."
Annabella turned in her arms, heart pounding. "Rea..."
"The day I saw you in that pond—"
"You mean when you were spying on me like a creep?"Annabella interrupted, lips quirking into a teasing smile.
Rea laughed, rich and unguarded. "Okay, fine. We had a rocky start. But all the best love stories do."
Annabella's hand rose to cup Rea's cheek, her thumb brushing over her skin tenderly. "I wouldn't change a single moment. Not one."
Rea's expression grew serious. She pulled back slightly, then dropped to one knee.
Annabella's hand flew to her mouth. "Rea—"
Rea pulled out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a ring that caught the moonlight. "There's only one thing I know for certain in this chaotic, unpredictable life." Her voice cracked with emotion. "I can't live without you. I don't want to."
From the shadows near the doorway, Lyz saw and stepped forward, but Andrew's hand shot out, stopping her. "Stand down."
"How can you just watch this?" Lyz hissed, pain raw in her voice.
"She agreed to the plan." Andrew's tone was flat, resigned. "If this is how she wants to spend her last hours with Rea, let her have it."
Shawn had to physically guide Lyz away, her expression shattered. She loved Annabella too, obsessively, desperately.
Rea's voice pulled Annabella's attention back. "Will you, Annabella de la Croix, bind your fate to mine? Now and forever?"
Annabella dropped to her knees in front of Rea and kissed her—fierce, passionate, desperate. When they finally broke apart, both were breathless.
"Yes,"Annabella whispered against her lips. "Yes. A thousand times, yes."
They spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing, stealing kisses in dark corners, planning a wedding Annabella knew would never happen. But for those hours, she let herself be happy. She let herself pretend.
***
The next morning, Rea woke to find Annabella still asleep beside her, face peaceful in the early light. Rea knew that if she tried to sex Annabella that night, she would have let it happen. But she had made the decision not to consummate their engagement until the wedding night, a romantic gesture that was now torturing her. Every stolen glance, every accidental touch left her aching with desire that had nowhere to go.
While Rea trained in the courtyard, Annabella met with Andrew and Lyz in a private study. Lyz leaned against the wall, sulking, arms crossed as Andrew laid out the plan.
"Tomorrow at dawn, you leave. The story is this: Rea abducted you in a fit of obsession and sealed you in a remote cave. Lyz, operating as a bounty hunter which she still is, technically, tracked you down and returned you to your father."
Annabella considered this, then shook her head. "It's not believable. I'm a triple A mage, Andrew. My father will never believe I couldn't escape a simple sealing spell."She paused. "I need to ingest poison."
"Absolutely not."Andrew's response was immediate, almost violent. "It's far too dangerous."
Annabella's eyes flashed violet. Power rippled outward from her in waves as the first seal on her shoulder began to glow through her dress. The air itself grew heavy, oppressive. Both Andrew and Lyz staggered, gasping for breath.
"Do you really believe," Annabella said softly, terrifyingly, "that any seal could contain me if I didn't allow it? This..." the pressure intensified, "...isn't even ten percent of what I'm capable of and my father knows it"
She released them. They both collapsed against furniture, panting.
"I need a specific poison administered before departure," Annabella continued calmly, as if she hadn't just demonstrated godlike power. "It will induce a temporary coma. Dangerous, yes. Deadly? No. Not for me."
Lyz straightened, her eyes never leaving Annabella. "I'll prepare it. And I'll make sure you're safe. I promise."
There was something fierce in her gaze. Something possessive.
***
That night, Rea returned to their chamber expecting to find Annabella asleep—curled up carefully on her side of the bed, maintaining that habitual distance even in rest.
Instead, Annabella was awake. Waiting.
She sat on the edge of the bed wearing a gown Rea had never seen before. Deep emerald silk that plunged scandalously low, clinging to every curve, every line of her body. A sheer shawl draped over her shoulders, doing absolutely nothing to hide what lay beneath. Her hair tumbled loose over one shoulder, and her violet eyes held Rea's with an intensity that stole the breath from her lungs.
"You're awake," Rea managed, her voice rough. She started pulling off her boots, trying to appear unaffected and failing miserably.
"I thought we might play a game." Annabella rose gracefully, moving toward her like a stalking cat.
Rea's pulse kicked into overdrive. "What kind of game?"
Annabella circled her slowly, deliberately. "The kind where you try desperately to keep your composure..." She trailed one finger along Rea's shoulder as she passed behind her. "...and I do everything in my power to destroy it."
***
The chessboard sat between them, illuminated by a single candle that made the shadows dance. Annabella leaned forward, resting her chin delicately on her interlaced fingers, her gaze fixed not on the pieces but on Rea's face.
"Check," she murmured, sliding her knight across the board with agonizing slowness. Her fingertips lingered on the piece, nails tapping a deliberate rhythm against the wood.
Rea shifted in her seat. She'd been losing focus for the past ten minutes, her attention constantly drawn to the way Annabella's gown shifted when she moved, how it rode up her thighs when she crossed her legs, revealing miles of smooth, perfect skin.
She forced her eyes back to the board and moved her bishop. "Not yet."
Annabella's laugh was low, smoky, dangerous. She reached for her queen, and as she leaned forward to place it, the neckline of her gown dipped so low that Rea could see—
"You're already struggling," Annabella whispered, her voice like honey and venom. "I can see it in your eyes. In the way your hands are shaking."
Rea's grip tightened on the arm of her chair until the wood groaned. "I'm fine."
"Liar."
Annabella reached across the board as if to adjust a piece, her hand brushing Rea's wrist. The contact was electric.
Rea snapped.
She surged forward, scattering pieces across the floor as she seized Annabella by the waist and lifted her onto the table in one smooth motion. She stepped between Annabella's thighs, hands braced on either side of her hips, chest heaving.
"What are you doing to me?" Rea's voice was ragged, desperate. "I am trying to be a good girl! Why are you torturing me like this?"
Annabella's legs wrapped around Rea's waist, pulling her closer until their bodies pressed together. Her smile was pure sin. "Because watching you unravel is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Rea kissed her then—hard, hungry, teeth catching Annabella's bottom lip. Annabella moaned into her mouth, hands fisting in Rea's hair, pulling her deeper, closer, until neither could breathe or think.
Rea lifted her bodily from the table and carried her to the bed, laying her down and covering her body with her own. Annabella arched beneath her, gasping, and Rea reached for the fertility spell.
Annabella's hand shot out, catching her wrist. "No."
Rea froze, eyes wide and dark. "Bella, don't play with me. Not about this."
Annabella pulled her down into a slow, deliberate kiss. Then her hand slid boldly downward, slipping beneath Rea's waistband, fingers wrapping around her hardness.
Rea's entire body jolted. She buried her face in Annabella's neck with a broken groan, hips jerking involuntarily into her touch.
Annabella stroked her slowly, torturously, her lips brushing Rea's ear. "I'm not playing. I want you inside me tonight. No barriers. No spells. Just you and me."
Rea's response was a string of filthy curses as she kissed down Annabella's throat, her collarbone, lower. Annabella arched into her, nails raking down Rea's back, moaning her name like a prayer and a plea.
Fabric disappeared between desperate hands. Skin met skin, flushed and fevered.
Annabella was merciless, rolling her hips against Rea's thigh, whispering obscene promises in that cultured voice that had no business knowing such words. She guided Rea's rhythm with maddening slowness, making her grind, making her ache, until Rea was trembling with the effort of holding back.
Rea reached once more for the spell, desperate for some semblance of control.
Annabella grabbed her face, forcing her to meet those blazing violet eyes. "No spells," she commanded. "I want to feel everything. I want your release inside me. All of it."
Rea made a sound halfway between a growl and a whimper.
Her hand slid between Annabella's thighs and found her soaked. "Gods, you're already—"
"I've been ready since the first move on that chessboard," Annabella breathed, rolling her hips into Rea's touch. "Stop teasing and take me."
Rea swore viciously and kissed her with bruising intensity, fingers working her until Annabella cried out, back bowing off the bed.
"I can't wait anymore,"Rea rasped against her lips. "All your games, your teasing—I love it and I hate it and I need you now."
She positioned herself and pushed inside slowly, carefully. They both gasped at the sensation—raw, overwhelming, unfiltered by magic.
"You feel... bigger," Annabella whimpered, nails digging into Rea's shoulders.
"You're tighter. So much tighter." Rea's voice broke. "Fuck the spell. This is—"
She began to move, gentle at first, then harder when Annabella's legs wrapped around her waist and pulled her deeper.
Annabella's eyes began to shimmer, an otherworldly glow as pheromones released involuntarily. Rea's eyes responded in kind, golden light flickering as she tried to suppress her own.
"Don't." Annabella's hand cupped her face. "Don't hide from me. Look at me. Let the pheromones amplify everything. I want to feel all of you."
The rhythm grew frantic, primal. Heat built between them like a storm about to break. Annabella's body tightened around Rea, and Rea throbbed in response, both of them climbing higher, faster.
"I love you," Rea gasped against her mouth. "I love you so much"
"I love you too,"Annabella sobbed, and she meant it with every fiber of her being. "I love you, I love you—"
Pleasure crashed over them simultaneously, devastating and perfect. Rea buried herself as deep as she could go, spilling inside Annabella as they clung to each other, shaking and gasping.
They collapsed together, bodies tangled and slick with sweat. Rea held her close, pressing kisses to her hair, her temple, anywhere she could reach.
"That was..." Rea couldn't find words.
"Everything," Annabella whispered. She turned in Rea's arms, tracing patterns on her chest. "You're everything to me."
Rea smiled, soft and unguarded in a way she only ever was with Annabella. "So I guess you are no longer a virgin! You have become my woman. I gotta ask! Why not wait?"
Annabella's eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall. "I have always been yours. I just thought...What is one more day when we are already part of each other's life."
She promised, her voice breaking. "I stopped being a virgin the day I met you."
She pressed closer, memorizing the feel of Rea's arms around her, the sound of her heartbeat, the warmth of her skin.
They lay tangled together for a while, catching their breath. But Rea's hands never stopped moving, trailing up Annabella's spine, cupping her hips, tracing the curve of her waist. Within minutes, Annabella felt Rea hardening again against her thigh.
"Already?" Annabella teased, though heat was already pooling low in her belly again.
Rea groaned, burying her face in Annabella's neck. "I can't help it. You're intoxicating. But I—"She hesitated, frustration bleeding into her voice. "I won't last. Not after that first round. Everything's too sensitive, too intense without the spell."
Annabella pulled back to look at her, violet eyes gleaming with mischief and something darker. "Then let me teach you control."
"Teach me?" Rea's breath hitched.
"Mmm." Annabella pushed Rea onto her back and straddled her hips, settling over her hardness without taking her in yet. "Lesson one: look at me. Don't break eye contact. Not for a second."
Rea's hands found Annabella's thighs, gripping tight. "That's going to make it harder—"
"That's the point." Annabella lifted herself and sank down slowly, taking Rea inside inch by torturous inch. They both moaned, but Annabella kept her eyes locked on Rea's. "Watch me. See what you do to me."
Rea's jaw clenched, her whole body taut with the effort of holding still. "Bella—"
"Lesson two." Annabella began to move, rolling her hips in a slow, deliberate grind. "Slower. Savor how my body feels around you. Feel how I tighten..." She clenched deliberately, and Rea's hips bucked involuntarily. "...and how I loosen when you pull back."
"Fuck," Rea gasped, nails digging into Annabella's thighs. "This is torture."
"This is control."Annabella's breath was coming faster now, but she maintained that maddening pace. "Lesson three, and this is the most important one."She leaned down, bracing her hands on either side of Rea's head, their faces inches apart. "You don't get to finish until I beg for it."
Rea's eyes widened. "What?"
"You heard me." Annabella kissed her slowly, deeply, still moving in that torturous rhythm. "I want you to make me so desperate that I beg you to fill me. Can you do that?"
Something shifted in Rea's expression—a competitive edge, a predatory focus. "Oh, I can do that."
She gripped Annabella's hips and suddenly flipped their positions, pinning Annabella beneath her. Annabella gasped at the shift, at the way Rea filled her from this new angle.
"If you want to play games," Rea growled against her lips, "let's play."
She pulled almost all the way out, then thrust back in with agonizing slowness. Annabella's back arched, a whimper escaping her throat.
"Too slow?" Rea teased, repeating the motion. "You said to savor it."
She set a rhythm that was pure torture—deep, slow strokes that hit every sensitive spot inside Annabella but never quite fast enough, never quite hard enough. Her eyes never left Annabella's, watching every flicker of pleasure, every frustrated gasp.
"Rea,"Annabella breathed, her voice strained. "You—"
"Not begging yet." Rea's smile was wicked. She changed the angle slightly, hitting a spot that made Annabella cry out. "But we're getting there, aren't we?"
She continued the slow assault, varying the depth and angle just enough to keep Annabella on edge but never pushing her over. Her thumb found Annabella's clit, circling with the same maddening slowness.
"Oh gods," Annabella moaned, her nails raking down Rea's back. "Please—"
"Please what?"Rea's voice was rough with her own desire, but she held firm to the control Annabella had demanded of her. "Say it properly."
Annabella tried to move her hips, to take what she needed, but Rea's grip held her in place. The slow build was driving her insane, pleasure coiling tighter and tighter in her core with nowhere to go.
"Rea, please," she gasped, all pretense of control shattering. "I need—I need you to fill me. Hard. Please, I'm begging you "
That was all Rea needed.
She pulled out completely, and before Annabella could protest, flipped her onto her hands and knees. Annabella barely had time to brace herself before Rea entered her again from behind, the new angle even deeper.
"Like this?" Rea's hand fisted in Annabella's hair, pulling her head back as she thrust hard. "Is this what you wanted?"
"Yes,,,ngh,,,,ngh!" Annabella cried out, the word breaking into a moan. "Yes, exactly like this—"
Rea set a punishing pace, one hand tangled in Annabella's hair, the other gripping her hip hard enough to bruise. The sound of skin against skin filled the room, punctuated by Annabella's increasingly desperate cries.
"You feel so fucking perfect," Rea groaned, her control finally slipping. "So tight around me, taking me so well—"
Annabella could barely form words, overwhelmed by sensation. Every thrust hit deeper from this angle, and the way Rea pulled her hair sent sparks of pleasure-pain down her spine.
"Don't stop," she begged, voice raw. "Please don't stop, I'm so close,..."
Rea leaned over her, pressing her chest against Annabella's back, changing the angle again. Her hand slid around to Annabella's front, fingers finding her clit and rubbing tight circles.
"Come for me,"Rea commanded against her ear. "Let me feel you fall apart."
The combination was too much. Annabella shattered, screaming Rea's name as pleasure crashed through her in waves. Her body clenched rhythmically around Rea, pulling her deeper, and that was all it took.
Rea thrust once, twice more, then buried herself as deep as she could go with a broken cry, spilling inside Annabella as her own orgasm tore through her.
They collapsed together onto the bed, both trembling and gasping for air. Rea carefully pulled out and gathered Annabella into her arms, pressing kisses to her shoulders, her neck, anywhere she could reach.
"Remind me to make love to you only when you want to!! It is so much more..."Rea couldn't finish the sentence.
"Perfect," Annabella whispered, turning in her arms. Her body ached in the most delicious way, and she could feel Rea's release warm inside her. "You are a quick learner."
Rea smiled, soft and drowsy. "I had a very good teacher." She pulled Annabella closer, their legs tangling together. "Let's get married soon please"
"Very soon," Annabella said, her voice thick with emotion she couldn't quite hide. "More than anything in this world or the next."
She pressed closer, memorizing the feel of Rea's arms around her, the sound of her heartbeat, the warmth of her skin, the scent of sex and sweat and love that surrounded them.
This was goodbye, though Rea would never know it.
Not until it was too late.