I took a deep breath and walked the few steps to my closet. I had no sooner put my hand on the door knob than it swung wide with Drake on the inside. He took me in his arms and swung me around like a child. When my feet touched the ground, I was fully wrapped in Drake’s arms. Careful not to alert the guard, Drake exhaled the words, “I missed you so much, I thought I’d burst today, Love.”

My mouth opened on his, and I felt like I was spinning again.

When we stopped to breathe, Drake’s excitement shone on his face, “I bought you a gift today.”

“A gift? Why?”

“It might have been more of a gift for me.” He wore a mischievous grin, and I felt my heart doing its sprint just like it had last night. He reached behind him and pulled out a cardboard box, “I saw it today and have been dying to see what you’d look like in it.” He motioned for me to go into the bathroom, and I could only imagine what I would find in the box.

As I stood in front of the mirror wearing the ivory satin nightgown, my nerves began taking control of my body, and I wasn’t sure I had the courage to go out half-dressed. The length was only to mid-thigh, the front was cut low: I looked like a mannequin at Victoria’s Secret. I saw my shorts and a t-shirt that I normally slept in lying beside the sink. I nearly switched into them when I caught my reflection in the mirror. If my shorts and t-shirt were enough to make his heart speed up, his arms wrench tight around me, and his throat murmur those deep sexy sounds — I couldn’t wait to see his response to this ensemble. After the last six weeks, I wanted to be wanted. I wanted to see Drake’s eyes pop out of his head. I wanted to hear the groan of desire I knew would come from deep within him.

Drake made me feel beautiful, sexy even, but walking out to his waiting eyes – I wasn’t sure I could. I found a bathrobe hanging on the back of the door and wrapped it around myself before I stepped back into the bedroom.

Drake’s hands found me in the dark as his voice exhaled, “Did you wrap yourself up in that robe like a present for me? Are you trying to torture me?” He stood in front of me wearing only a pair of shorts. His shirtless body called to me. The moonlight through the window shimmered off his muscular shoulders and tight abs. The sight of him, even in the moonlight, took my breath away.

I wanted to feel his skin on mine. I buried my face in his chest as my arms wrapped around him. He smelled wonderful, he felt incredible – his muscular frame and warm skin invited me to lose the robe. I loosened the tie and let the robe fall to the floor. Drake took a couple steps back, taking me in. He leaned in toward me, scooped me up in his arms, and carried me to the bed, his lips pressed lightly to mine. I didn’t know how far he intended to go, and I wasn’t sure I possessed the willpower to put any brakes on.

Drake lay me gently on the bed and slid in behind me. His hand stroked my arm, from the top of my shoulder to the tip of my fingers, up and down, countless times. His touch generated goose bumps all over my body while he kissed the back of my neck just under my hairline all the way to my shoulders. His caresses were tender, and without words I could feel the turmoil in his touch. I could hear his breathing was heavy, and I felt like he had poured an accelerant on me — I was on fire. When I thought I could take no more, he exhaled a warm breath by my ear, “Remember that day at Andolini’s? — I told you I would combust? That was me being sweet.” I did remember his words just before I drove away, and his admission made me smile. Drake added, “I’m not being sweet. I seriously feel like I’m going to combust.”

“Oh sure, you’re going to combust?”

His breath was haggard, his voice strained, “I had intended to be a perfect gentleman, but intentions sometimes go by the wayside.”

“You will be a perfect gentleman. I’ll go switch this getup for some sweatpants if I have to. We both know my fiancé is across the hall.” I tried to be funny, but missed my mark by a long shot.

His lips froze in position on my shoulder. I knew my words struck a nerve. “We need to figure out how to get that damn necklace off you. I want to disappear with you, Camille.”

“I’m all ears if you have an idea.”

“If you could, would you run away with me?”

I didn’t have to think of my response. “Faster than an Olympic sprinter.”

Drake hugged me hard from behind. It felt like his arms were a vice, and I was so tight against him, I could feel his muscles flex behind me. I had found my heaven right here on earth in Drake’s arms. I was surprised when he blurted out, “Break your engagement with Gage.”

“You know I can’t. I’m not the one who set it up to begin with.”

“It’s still your choice. Choose me.”

“Drake, you hardly know me.”

“What do I need to know that I don’t already know?”

“Lots of things.” I struggled, before my mouth started spewing random things about me. “I like to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. I like to snow ski on the bunny slope, and I’m terrified I’m going to fall off the lift chairs. I hate baseball, not dislike — hate. I miss Starbucks White Mocha Latte. I can’t ride a bicycle. You don’t know anything about me.”

“You think because I didn’t know that, I don’t know you well enough to marry you?”

“I think if life were fair, I could choose to go back to my old life: no mind reading, no knowledge of the future, no magical powers. I’d be free to go to the movies, lay on the beach, laugh at YouTube videos, and do everything I used to love.”

His voice was pleading, “We can do that, Camille.”

“That’s the thing, Drake. Why does it have to be all or nothing? I’m being forced to marry a guy I hardly know, who is in love with someone else. You’re asking me to break the engagement I never wanted, so I can choose to marry you. I’m twenty-two. There are too many things I haven’t done yet.”

“So we’ll do those things together.”

“What if I want to do them myself?” I could see my words stung him. I tried to lessen the hurt by explaining, “Maybe it would be different if I had grown up knowing what I was or at least what was expected of me. But I didn’t. I grew up my way. I couldn’t care less if my family’s bloodline doesn’t go on. I don’t need someone else to be happy; I just need not to be a prisoner.”

Drake eased himself away from me. He didn’t look at me when he answered, “But you couldn’t be happy with me?”

I shook my head. “Maybe you. Or maybe a high school history teacher, or maybe a commercial fisherman. Life can’t be scripted, Drake.” It felt good to say to Drake what had been boiling under my skin since I found out about all these crazy traditions. “I’m willing to make a deal with you.”

I knew I’d hurt him, but it was only fair he know the real me. “If we get out of this mess, we’ll date... my way. No escorts, no supervision, none of the crap everyone’s been trying to shove on me. We’ll go to the movies. If we have a good time and we both want to, we’ll go on a second date, then a third. If – and that’s a big if – years later we both get to the point that we can’t live without each other, then we talk about forever. Deal?”

“I don’t need years to know you’re the one I want, Camille.”

“That sucks, Drake, because I do. I want time. I want to...” I squeezed his arms that had gone slack around me, “savor you. Get to know you. I want something more than just a physical attraction. I don’t want you to miss me while we’re apart. I want your whole body to ache, to go through withdrawals for me. When we get to that, if we ever get there, that’s when we’ll know we’re right for each other.”

“If that’s your measure, my body aches right now, and it has since the first day I saw you at Bruce’s wedding.”

“Have you heard anything I’ve said? I don’t know anything about you. I’m all for running off with you and disappearing for a while, but I’m not ready to marry anyone. Unless I’m forced into it with Gage, it’s not going to happen.”

“Camille, we’ll find a way to get you out of this betrothal.” He waited a long minute before he continued, “I’ll go along with you. We’ll do things your way. But I don’t need years, or months, or weeks – if I could get you to see through my eyes, to feel through my heart, you’d understand why I think the process you just laid out is ludicrous. I know my heart. When you decide that I really am the one, trust me, I’ll never let you regret it. We’ll stay like this forever, fused as one.”

His words were like a drug, and I, an addict, desperately in need of a fix. I rolled over so that we faced each other; my hand swept his face. I studied him, worried that he, like everyone else in my life I cared about, would soon be taken away from me. I traced his lips with my finger, touched his face with my palm, and ran my fingers into his hair. Drake was beyond attractive: his ice blue eyes held me in a trance. I said nothing. I wanted to take him in, memorize everything about him.

I didn’t want to end our moment, but the self-preservation side of me took over. I knew if we kept this up, he was right: I would fall in love with him. It wouldn’t be a crush or blind lust; it would be the rip-out-your-heart, falling-off-a-cliff love that comes once in a lifetime. I would be devastated on my wedding night to Gage, a hollow shell of a person losing someone forever whom I could never have. “What are we doing?” My question caught him off guard.

Drake smiled at me as he whispered, “We’re acquainting ourselves with each other, Love.” His voice was happy, content, but it turned amused when he added, “Unless you have a better activity in mind for this evening.”

I could feel the hopelessness of the situation seeping in. Making plans to date was ridiculous when any hope for a future other than the one forced on us wasn’t possible. “I’m marrying Gage in a few weeks, and you’re marrying Bianca. There’s nothing either of us can do to stop it.”

“Break your engagement with Gage.”

“This stupid necklace would take my head completely off if I said that out loud.”

Quietly, he said, “Camille, we need help. There has to be some way to get it off.”

“How? We’re out of options, Drake. All we’re doing now is making the heartbreak worse — putting off our own goodbye.”

He turned my face to him so I was forced to look in his eyes, “I can’t give you up. Even if it’s just a few nights together, I want them.” I looked away, knowing his words cut clear through to my soul. “It’s better than a lifetime of regret for ignoring what little time together we were afforded. I’ll take what I can get, Camille.”

“So, this is it? I lie here with you, praying that we’ll have one more night tomorrow, and the next after that. We’re going to run out of tomorrows. We can’t wish the dawn away.”

“For now, live in the moment, Love.” This time his voice was heavy with the same desperation I was feeling. He tried to comfort me by pulling me closer, and I tried to be comforted by drawing him in. The feeling wouldn’t go away. Our nights were numbered, and our time together nearly over after it had just begun.

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince me or himself. “Gage is one of the most cunning men I know. He may have a plan he hasn’t shared with me yet. Don’t give up on us; we’ll find a way.” Drake drifted off to sleep before I did; he spoke to me while he was sleeping. I don’t know how many times I heard it before I drifted off with him, but I fell asleep to the sound of Drake’s whispers, their own soft lullaby: “Choose me, Love, choose me.”

The next morning was much the same as our first, with Gage knocking on my door. He didn’t come in, nor did he allow the guard entry to my room. I hid Drake in the closet, although I could hardly tear myself away from him. I would have welcomed an eternity in Zandra’s prison if it meant that I could spend every night with Drake. I stole one final kiss as I closed the closet door.

Gage and I were already seated for breakfast when Zandra joined us. I didn’t wait to be spoken to. My night with Drake gave me strength for another day with my captor, “Good morning, Grandmother. I hope you slept well.”

“I did, Camille. Thank you for asking.” She turned her attention to Gage, “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Gage?” It was such a strange sensation. She was warm to me, but when she spoke to Gage, her voice had turned to ice.

Gage realized something was wrong. His charm began to waiver as he shakily responded, “I can’t think of anything pressing to tell you. I spoke to father last night. He sends his best.”

“Hmmph,” was her reply. She was frustrated with something and announced, “I think we all need to go to the garden this morning.” She motioned for us to stand up; Gage and I did without hesitation. I desperately wanted to read his thoughts to find out what caused the change in Zandra, but I didn’t want to do it in front of her. I had only successfully done it once before, and I hadn’t seen Phineas since. I worried I had done it wrong, and maybe our conversation had been discovered by Zandra.

We took a seat on the bench together as Zandra pulled up a chair. “Have either of you heard the teaching of Aphrodite and her gift to Unice?”

I shook my head that I hadn’t and sat up straighter. I hadn’t taken a shock from the stupid necklace in a day and a half and wasn’t about to start today with one. I had a strange feeling that unlike the other stories she had told me, I needed to pay close attention to this one.