Kylee’s heart thundered in her chest as she crossed the threshold. She wasn’t sure what this meant, not really. But her body had already made the decision her mind was still trying to resist.
“I don’t expect anything,” Rio said, softly. “You can just sit with me. I just… wanted to see you again tonight. That’s all.”
She nodded, wordless, and moved toward the large bed. He followed.
They didn’t touch at first. Just laid there side by side on top of the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Breathing together. Then his hand found hers. Fingers laced. She didn’t pull away.
After a moment, Kylee turned her head toward him and whispered, “This is so wrong.”
“But it doesn’t feel wrong,” he replied.
She closed her eyes, her breath shaky.
“I’m trying so hard not to fall.”
“Then don’t fall,” he said. “Just be here.With me. Right now.”
And somehow, just hearing that be here broke something inside her. The resistance gave way to wanting, not lust exactly, but longing.She rolled toward him slowly, chest to chest, his breath warm against her cheek.
Rio didn’t rush. He just looked at her like she was something rare and breakable, and then placed the softest kiss on her forehead.
“I’m still waiting,” he whispered. “But I won’t sleep knowing you’re just down the hall.”
She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.
“Then don’t let me go,” she murmured.
He didn’t.
The lamp cast a soft amber glow over the room. Shadows shifted on the walls as the breeze from the open balcony door whispered through sheer curtains. Kylee stayed curled against Rio, her head on his chest, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her cheek.
His arm rested around her bare shoulders. Not possessive just there, comforting. Like he’d always meant for it to be. He was warm, and his skin smelled like fresh soap and something darker underneath. Something him.
They hadn’t said much in a while. There was no need. The silence between them felt full, not awkward. Charged. Every now and then, she’d lift her eyes and find him already watching her.
“You’re doing it again,” she whispered, her voice like velvet.
“Doing what?” His voice was just above a murmur.
“Looking at me like I’m yours.”
Rio didn’t smile. He didn’t flinch. He simply said, “That’s because I want you to be.”
Kylee’s breath caught. She didn’t have the strength or the will to argue with that.
He reached up and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered along her jaw, then traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. It was barely a touch, but it made her whole body light up.
“You keep letting me hold you,” he said.
“I know.”
“You keep coming back to me.”
“I know,” she whispered again.
He shifted, slowly rolling onto his side to face her fully. She stayed right there with him, lips parted, eyes wide.
Rio’s hand moved down, brushing her waist, slipping beneath the edge of the robe she hadn’t bothered tying fully. His touch wasn’t rushed. It was reverent. Like she was something he’d been imagining for too long and now that she was here, he didn’t want to take a single second for granted.
