When she remembers what I am.
For three thundering heartbeats, we're both frozen. I fight to suppress a louder, more primal growl threatening to tear free.
Her eyes meet mine again, more directly this time. So close I can see the darker blue and green flecks at the edges of her irises. Her body tense, not with discomfort but with awareness. Both of us feeling it.
What's happening between us.
Time stretches, elastic and strange. She doesn't scramble away in panic even though she's within inches of my face. Even though she's already glimpsed the nightmare.
My fucking cock throbs against her thigh.
I should be getting away from her before she thinks I'm no different from the alphas she's running from. Should be doing anything but sitting here frozen like a statue, staring at her.
There's a question in her eyes when they meet mine again.
I don't understand it, but I feel it.
Like a struck tuning fork.
My free hand lifts without my permission, trembling as it hovers near her face. Almost touching the curve of her jaw, the strands of dark hair framing her eyes. So close I can feel the heat radiating from her skin, but I don't make contact.
Don't cross that final line.
Don't take what isn't mine to take.
With agonizing effort, I tear my gaze from hers, forcing my body to relax. I ease her gently off me, careful not to let her slip again, settling her onto the couch beside me.
Every instinct rails against the loss of contact.
But I can't have this.
Can't have her.
She deserves better than a monster that lives in shadows and can't even show his face in public.
She deserves actual food, too.
I'm just glad she still has an appetite.
I tuck the blanket back around her, ensuring she's warm and comfortable. Her eyes follow my movements. Can't read the expression on her face. Looks curious. Still not afraid.
Why is she watching me like that?
Like she wants to ask me something.
My hands move slowly, deliberately, fighting their tremor.
R-E-S-T.I pause, then add,I… G-E-T… F-O-O-D.
She nods, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "Thank you," she says softly.
I want to tell her to stop thanking me.
That everything I've done is so small.
Small things anyone should give her.
But my hands won't form the signs. They're too heavy with the weight of everything unsaid.
