Her eyes spilled over before she could stop them.
“Sorry,” she whispered, swiping at her cheeks. “I don’t know why I’m?—”
“Don’t apologize for feeling things.” Liam set the music box aside and turned to face her fully. His hand came up to cup her jaw, thumb brushing away tears. “That’s what he taught you to do. Apologize for being alive.”
“It’s just a music box.”
“It’s a piece of who you were before someone convinced you that who you were wasn’t enough.” His eyes searched hers. Storm-gray and intent and so close. “That woman is still in there. The one who feels things fully. Who takes up space. Who creates bloody thunderstorms when she’s overwhelmed.”
“She’s a lot.”
“She’s magnificent.” His voice dropped. Rough. “I’ve been trying not to notice, but you make it very difficult.”
“Liam—”
“I know.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I know. The binding. The magic. Every reason this is a terrible idea.”
“We barely know each other.”
“I know you cry over music boxes and apologize for your own emotions. I know you make the wallschange color when you look at me. I know you’re brave and terrified and trying so hard to hold it all together.” His breath was warm against her lips. “I know enough.”
The music box played on. The fire crackled. And Cassie stopped thinking.
She closed the distance between them.
His mouth waswarm and tasted like wine and something she’d been missing for years. The kiss started soft—tentative, questioning—then deepened when she made a sound she’d never made before, something between a whimper and a sigh that seemed to undo him completely.
His hands slid into her hair. Her fingers gripped his shirt—that ridiculous too-small shirt—and pulled him closer. The binding between them hummed, but this didn’t feel like magic. This felt like choice. Like want. Like two broken people finally reaching for something good.
She could feel the heat of him through the thin cotton. The solid warmth of his chest. The way his breath caught when she pressed closer. Her hormones, apparently making up for lost time, were throwing a parade and setting off fireworks.
"Cassie," he murmured against her mouth. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. God, yes."
But even as she said it, something cold slithered through her chest. A voice that sounded like Derek. Like every rejection she'd ever swallowed.
He's only here because he's trapped. This isn't real. You're convenient.
She pulled back.
Liam's eyes searched her face. "What's wrong?"
"I just—" The doubt was rising now, drowning out everything else. "This is only happening because we're stuck together. The binding. The proximity. You wouldn't?—"
"Wouldn't what?"
Say it. Say what you're really afraid of.
"You wouldn't choose this." She was pulling away, putting distance between them. "Not really. Not if you had options." Something flickered across his expression. Hurt. Raw and immediate.
"You don't know that."
"Don't I?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "You're literally trapped here, Liam. You can't leave my property. How am I supposed to know if any of this is real when you don't have a choice?"
"I have choices. I could ignore you. I could stay in my room and count the days until the binding breaks. I could make this as miserable as possible for both of us." He took a step toward her, and she took a step back. His jaw tightened. "Instead I'm here.With you. Fixing your music boxes and talking you through magical storms and?—"
"Because you're a good person. Because you're stuck and you're making the best of it." The words tasted like ash. "That's not the same as choosing me."
