He huffs out a breath that might be a laugh and hands me a mug. I take a sip and sigh happily.
“If this is part of your plan to keep me here, it’s working.”
Red’s lips twitch. “You’re easy to please.”
“Only when there’s caffeine and you involved.” I nudge his thigh under the blanket. “How’d you sleep?”
“Better than I have in a long time.”
Aww.He looks so good in the morning—his hair rumpled, his stubble darker, that usual unreadable expression thin enough for me to see through it. But there’s tension in his shoulders. I wish I could kiss it all away.
I sip my coffee and watch him over the rim. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you’re here but also planning to leave.”
He gazes at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I didn’t say you were leaving the cabin, Red.” I set my mug on the nightstand. “I said you’re planning your exit strategy. Emotionally—you do it when things get real.”
He goes quiet.
“Last night,” I start, then stop because my throat tightens. “You called me Sasha.”
“You told me to.”
“I know.” I pull the blanket higher, suddenly aware of how naked I am under his shirt. “I’ve never done that before. Let someone use my real name. It felt—” I swallow. “It felt like giving you something no one else has.”
Red sets his mug down. His hand finds me again, his thumb stroking small circles through the flannel. “You did.”
“So now I’m sitting here in your bed, wearing your shirt, drinking your coffee, and I’m terrified.”
His eyes snap to mine. “Of me?”
“Of this.” I gesture between us. “Of how much I want it—how much I want you. I’ve spent my whole life being too much for people, Red. And you—” My voice cracks. “You look at me like I’m not too much. Like I’m exactly right for you, and that scares me.”
He shifts closer until his forehead almost touches mine. “You are exactly right.”
“Don’t say that unless you mean it.” I bite my lip, praying he means it.
“I mean it.” His voice drops. “I mean every word I’ve said to you.”
My stomach flips. “What happens when the storm clears? When I go back down the mountain and you stay up here in your fortress of solitude?”
“I don’t know.”
At least he’s honest.
I nod, blinking hard. “Okay.”
“Sasha.” He cups my face and tilts it until I’m looking at him. “I don’t know what happens next. But I know I don’t want this to end when you leave.”
The words land in my chest like bullets, making everything blur.
“I don’t want it to end either,” I admit, looking up at him.
“Then we figure it out.” He strokes his thumb across my cheekbone. “Together.”
