Author's note: this is from Seraphina's point of view

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The scent of pine trees mixed with the ocean invaded my senses, rendering me unable to respond.

I knew that this was Mona working behind my back, but I couldn't be angry at her, not even a little bit.

"I hope I'm not intruding.", Duke said with an insecure smile that made me fall for him all over again.

He was handsome in the light blue shirt paired up with khaki Bermuda shorts, and the sight of his chest that was revealed by the top two unfastened buttons was just enough to give me a glimpse of all the goodness under the thin fabric.

It took me a moment to realize that Duke was eyeing me, and I remembered I'm wearing a bikini and a sheer scarf around my waist that doesn't hide anything.

"If this is how you open the door every time, I should stop by more often.", Duke said, snapping me out of my daze.

Unable to resist the pull and the avalanche of emotions that crashed on me, I closed the distance between us in two quick steps and slammed myself into Duke, hugging him tightly to confirm that he is really there.

The way his arms wrapped around me naturally reminded me that this is where I belong. I could breathe again.

God, how much I missed him!

It's easy to forget about the world beyond the two of us and my head moved higher on its own, as my lips searched for his, eager to taste him again.

Of course, Duke understood me perfectly and without missing a beat we ended up making out at the main door of the villa.

His flavors seeped into my pores, making me weightless and dizzy as I pulled him closer desperately.

A low rumble sounded from Duke's chest making me tremble as arousal washed over me.

I pressed myself onto him, ready to let go of my sanity and my hands started pulling his shirt up, untucking it from his shorts with urgency.

"Khm-khm…", the sound of someone forcibly (and dramatically) clearing her throat reached us and I remembered that there are other people in the villa.

What the hell am I doing?

I snapped toward the voice and saw Mona grinning at us.

"Maybe you should take that to your room to avoid corrupting the youngsters.", Mona said with a sly smile and pointed up the stairs.

My face was on fire as I walked past Mona, dragging Duke by his hand.

"Hi Mona…", Duke said, and I could hear that he was smiling.

"Hi Drago…", she responded, and then shouted after us, "You are welcome! Don't worry, I will close the door!"

We reached into my room and only then I noticed that Duke had a duffel bag around his shoulder. He kept it on the ground and closed the door with a kick before lifting me up and carrying me to the bed.

I smiled at him goofily, unsure what he was about to do, but whatever it was, my answer was: 'yes'.

Duke laid me gently on the bed, and I hoped that we will get hot and steamy, but Duke laid next to me and hugged me tightly before burying his face in my neck.

He nuzzled my neck with his nose while taking in deep breaths, and I wondered if I smell to him like pine trees and the ocean, or maybe he just likes my perfume.

"I'm sorry.", he said.

I didn't understand. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I know I shouldn't come. I know that your condition is serious, and you are still not well, but I had to see you. Please, let me stay. You said that hugs and kisses are fine, and I promise not to go beyond that."

Silly man. I was not worried that he will cross the line, because the problem was my hunger for him. There is no way that we will sleep apart, and there is a high probability that I will jump on him during the night.

But now that Duke was here, all my worries disappeared like they never existed and I felt guilty for not inviting him myself. Duke was the only person I wanted to be with, yet he ended up crashing the party and apologizing for it.

"Of course, you can stay. I missed you like crazy."

He relaxed at my words.

"Do you want to shower or eat?", I offered.

"I'm fine for now. Let me hold you. I need to recharge. I know that we spoke every day, but video calls can't replace the real thing."

I giggled at his clingy behavior. His body against mine felt good and the heat in my core told me I'm aroused. How can a man be so hot?

The good thing is that Duke is not a werewolf, because the scent of my arousal would drive him insane.

Images of me pinning him down and ripping his clothes off flashed in my mind and I cringed at my own horniness. Are these thoughts of a woman who never went all the way with a man? Or am I at the age where I'm getting desperate and ready to defile the man I love?

Should I suggest that he wears a chastity belt tonight?

Duke makes me all kinds of crazy and I would probably go for it if not for the fact that I still didn't master my ability. What if I pass out and we get attacked? Sure, we are surrounded with werewolves (and Mona), and there is Aldus's security against people coming uninvited and anti-magic arrays, but all that (and much more) was there in the Castle of the Council, yet three hooded creatures approached me. I can only rely on myself and I need to stay awake so that I can protect Duke.

Thinking about security… "Is Sergio with you?"

Duke shook his head. "He wanted to tag along, but when I told him that I'm coming to Aldus's property, he decided to book a hotel room in Nice."

"Oh, so he is nearby."

"Do you want to see him?"

I shook my head. "I was just wondering if he will really leave you here with me, unprotected. Who knows what I will do to you?" I grinned.

Duke chuckled at my silly expression. "You can do whatever you want. I promise not to resist."

Damn this man! "Don't say such things because I'm getting naughty ideas."

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Go for it, baby."

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's more like an open invitation."

I knew that he meant it. He will let me do whatever I want because I would do the same.

The screams and cheers drifted in through the open window, it seems that something happened.

"I will introduce you to kids when we go down.", I announced, confident that Duke will get along well with them.

Duke already knew that other than Luca, Zoe, and Ash there are five other teens, and he obviously knew that Mona was here.

"Is Mona OK watching them by herself?", Duke asked.

"They are not little kids to demand hands-on care, and they are lively but well behaved. Just her presence is assuring they don't think about doing mischief."

I realized that Duke doesn't know about Lazarus. When I told him who will all be at this party, I was not sure if Lazarus will come because of the whole kissing incident. I decided to announce Lazarus's existence without delay. The last thing I wanted was a misunderstanding.

"Other than me and Mona, there is another grownup, Lazarus."

"Friend of yours?", Duke asked, genuinely curious.

"He is my father's friend and he offered to give us a hand with watching over kids."

Duke's handsome eyebrows came together. "You mean to give YOU a hand."

I rolled my eyes dramatically, hoping to tone down the hostility I felt from Duke. "Of course, to give ME a hand. I'm in charge of this party, right? Laz is good with kids, and he helped me more than once with advice. And before you ask, Laz is just a friend and I wish the two of you can get along."

After saying this, I had a bad feeling about Laz and Duke meeting each other. I hugged Duke tightly and buried my face in his chest. I needed to inhale his scent and calm down because I was overthinking things again.

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