?Chapter 676:

    Cole leaned in, his breath brushing Elliana’s ear as he spoke in a low, tempting voice. “That kind of pain only happens the first time. Next time, you’ll only feel good. Nothing else.”

    Elliana froze right away. Heat rushed to her face, coloring her cheeks and racing down her neck. She shot him a look, lips pushed out in a yful pout. “Who said anything about that?”

    For a second, Cole just stared,pletely thrown off. “Wait, that’s not what you meant?”

    “Of course not,” Elliana huffed.

    Cole could never get enough of her when she acted like this, all mock outrage and adorable pouting. He leaned closer, gently grazing her earlobe with his teeth. “So what else could possibly hurt and still feel joyful? Care to tell me?”

    Elliana let the question hang in the air, clearly enjoying every second of his anticipation. “I’m not telling you,” she said, her voice teasing. “You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. But you have to promise you’ll behave then. If you don’t, I might just have to tie you to the bed and make you.”

    Cole felt his curiosity growing, nearly eating him alive. Elliana’s thoughts could only be described as a breathtaking, tangled web of wild and unpredictable notions. Trying to keep pace with her was a challenge he would never win. What on earth could be both painful and joyful?

    But he knew better than to press her when she refused to breathe a word. Suppressing his curiosity, he slipped right back into his usual gentle teasing. “Rx, you have my full cooperation. Even if you ask for my very life tomorrow,…”

    you’ll find me all cleaned up, stretched out on the bed, just waiting for you toe and im it.”

    That made Elliana burst outughing, her fistnding against his chest in a light, yful tap. “You’re absolutely ridiculous!”

    Watching her, Cole could not help butugh as well, his eyes crinkling at the corners. She drew him inpletely, making him want to pull her closer, never let her go, to merge their hearts and souls until nothing could separate them.

    There were moments when she transformed into themanding queen of Delta, and then, in an instant, became a teasing, flirtatious woman bickering with him just for fun. The thought struck him again: how could a single woman possess so much perfection? From every perspective, she amazed him.

    Thinking back on meeting her, marrying her, and finding a ce in her heart, he was, without a doubt, the luckiest man alive.

    Every journey starts at gα?ησν????s?c????

    Having slept most of the day away, neither of them felt the slightest bit tired. They lingered by the water, unwilling to leave, long after the sun disappeared below the edge of the world and the hummingbirds had all returned to their nests.

    The sky faded from a bruised purple to the deepest shade of midnight. The sunset’s fire gave way to a new kind of wonder. The moon stretched a shining path over the waves, and starlight glittered above them, turning the beach into a quiet world filled with poetry and the promise of romance.

    Paulina, ever thoughtful, had set out a double lounger just for them. The two of them curled up together, arms entwined, their words dropping to a gentle murmur beneath the vast, star-speckled sky. Hours vanished unnoticed as they talked well past midnight.

    A chill breeze finally swept in from the sea and nudged them back to reality. That was when they pulled themselves away from the sand and wandered back to their room.

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