My mouth goes dry. I open it to speak, to try and take back control—
But nothing comes out. Nothing except a quiet, fractured inhale.
“I’m not here to rush you,” he murmurs so softly, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. “But I am making my intentions clear.Crystalclear.”
He shifts forwards. Just a fraction. Just enough that the space between our mouths becomes almost nothing.
My breath catches.
His nose brushes mine.
My lips part instinctively, and—
He stops.
Just before our lips meet.
He fucking stops, pulls back and he…
He smiles. Just a small one. But it’s the kind of smile that doesn’t belong in public. The kind of smile that belongs in the dark, with his mouth at my throat and my hands clenched in his hair.
And he knows.
He knows if he’d leaned in even a breath more, I would’ve let him.
My pulse is erratic, crashing in my ears, betraying me completely.
Kane is too damn good at this. Too good at making me feel like I’m hanging by a thread, teetering between control and surrender. Too good at knowing exactly how far to push without ever making me pull away.
“Can two of us stay?” he repeats, that rasp sinful for such a simple question.
“I… I’ll think about it,” I whisper in a pathetic, breathless voice.
He watches me for a long moment, like he’s memorising this, eyes lingering on my lips.
Then slowly, so slowly, he leans back, and stands.
“Thank you,” he says, calm. Relaxed. Like he hadn’t just whispered provocative words, held my face, stared at my lips… almost kissed me—“I’ll be nearby, if you need me.”
With that, he steps back and dissolves into the shadows without another word.
And I’m left sitting there, staring at the space where he’dbeen, heart still racing, lips tingling.
I stare down at the school of hungry fish. “I’m so glad you were here, or else no one would’ve believed that happened.” I toss the last bit of food into the river. “They’re going to break me.”
Their greedy mouths pop open and closed, and I take it as agreement.
Because I’m still breathless. Still reeling. And definitely, completely, not ready for this version of Kane.
Chapter 28: Jasmine
Kane never returned from the realm and, although I willneveradmit it to him, I’mfurious.
Was he punishing me for not agreeing immediately to a ‘double bond sleepover’? Is this what he’ll do every time he doesn’t get his way? Just up and vanish?
But the bubbling irritation fades when Ezekial arrives behind that damn wall. His comforting warmth rolls over me like a late-night summer tide, steady, grounding, soft.
And with no one physically here, no studious eyes watching my every move, I let myself feel it. Let myself feel him.
