Chapter 37

• The air between them thickened, every breath charged with the unspoken pull that bound them. Aria didn’t move away. Instead, she leaned in, as if her body was already answering a call her mind hadn’t yet voiced. The warmth of Dante’s touch and the depth of his gaze were like gravity. Inescapable.
• Dante’s fingers slid up her spine, slow and reverent, until his hand cradled the back of her neck. His forehead rested lightly against hers, and for a breathless moment, they stood there, held together by something neither could name.
• “This bond,” he whispered, his voice rough with restraint, “it’s calling me to you, deeper than I’ve ever known.”