“Umm…we’ll get going.” Micah muttered silently. I didn’t look at them. But I heard the scrapping of chairs agaisng the marble and retreating footsteps. Alfred excused himself. Dante and Micah left us alone.

“Wait,” I said calmly. Too calmly in fact. The ring on my finger was icy and hard, like a thread connecting me to him, for ever, eternity. My heart skipped a beat. I was not ready. I could never be. As much as Silvio enticed me physically, I was not ready to bind with him spiritually.

Pulling my hand out of his grasp, I cradled it against my chest, backing away till my back was pressed agsing...