“Of course.”
“What do you see for yourself after all of this? The bond, Theodore, everything—what comes next?”
The question caught him off guard. Grayson had spent so much of his life focused on the next mission, the next threat, that the idea of a “next” beyond all of it felt foreign. He rubbed the back of his neck, searching for an answer that didn’t feel hollow.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve never thought about it. My life’s always been about getting through the next fight. The future wasn’t something I let myself think about.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you started. Everyone deserves a future, Grayson. Even you.”
He looked at her, and the sincerity in her voice hit him harder than he ever could have expected. “What about you? What do you want?”
Her fingers traced the edge of her glass. “Freedom. From the bond, from the past, from everything that’s weighed me down. I just want to figure out who I am when I’m not running or fighting.”
“You don’t have to figure it all out right now.”
“Maybe. But it’s hard to see that sometimes.”
“You’re not alone, Cora. Whatever happens, you’ve got me. For as long as you want me.”
Her eyes met his, and the vulnerability he saw there squeezed at his heart. “I think I might want that more than I’m ready to admit.”
The drive back to Cora’s apartment was steeped in an unfamiliar quiet, the kind that felt deliberate rather than awkward. The sound of the car’s engine filled the space between them, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the thoughts swirling in Grayson’s mind. He risked a glance at her, taking in the way she gazed out the window and her fingers idly traced the hem of her sweater. She looked peaceful, but an edge of something—reflection, perhaps, or anticipation—mirrored his own thoughts.
Grayson’s hand rested on the gearshift, inches from hers. The thought of reaching over, of letting his fingers brush against hers, crossed his mind more than once, but he kept his hand where it was. He told himself it was better this way, safer. Yet every mile they drove seemed to chip away at that thin layer of restraint.
Cora’s voice broke through the quiet, soft but curious. “You okay over there?”
He blinked, realizing he’d been gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. “Yeah. Just…thinking.”
“Dangerous habit,” she teased. “Anything you want to share?”
He wanted to tell her everything—that tonight had meant more to him than he could put into words, that he wasn’t sure what came next, but he wanted to figure it out with her. Instead, he settled for a safer truth. “Just trying to make sure I didn’t screw this up.”
“You didn’t.”
The reassurance settled something deep in his chest, and he managed a small nod. He let the silence linger for the rest of the drive, but it carried a quiet understanding, a thread that connected them even without words.
When they pulled up outside her apartment, Grayson killed the engine and stepped out of the car, moving around to meet her on the sidewalk. Cora walked ahead of him with her keys jingling softly in her hand, and he followed, his steps slower as he wrestled with wondering where the night was headed.
At her door, she paused as she slid it into the lock. The space between them felt electric, not with tension but with possibility, and he struggled to decipher what she was thinking.
Grayson stayed near the entrance once they were inside, with his feet planted firmly on the rug as he took in the familiar space. Cora set her keys on the counter, and when she turned to face him, her eyes were softer than he’d ever seen them. She took a step closer, then closer again, until the distance between them shrunk to almost nothing.
“You don’t have to overthink this, you know,” she told him.
“I’m not good at this,” he admitted.
“You’re doing fine,” she replied. “Better than fine, actually.”
Her words disarmed him, and for a moment, he simply looked at her, memorizing the curve of her smile and the way her hair framed her face. She closed the distance between them before he could summon the courage to say anything else.
The first brush of her lips against his was almost shy, but it unraveled something deep inside him. Grayson tilted his head,letting the kiss deepen as his hands found her waist. He pulled her closer and felt the tension in her body melt as she leaned into him.
Cora’s fingers tangled in his hair, and the sensation sent a rush of warmth through him. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been holding back until now, and the release was dizzying.
When they broke apart, pressing their foreheads resting together, Grayson’s voice was rough as he murmured, “I don’t want this to end.”
“Then don’t,” Cora replied.
