She watches me, gaze steady.
“Please. I don’t want to be alone.”
That’s all it takes.
I step inside. Close the door behind me. Cross the room slower than I need to, like every step might be the one I regret.
She tracks me with her eyes, like she’s giving me every chance to walk away. Like she wouldn’t blame me if I did.
I sit on the edge of the bed, careful. Her hand finds mine before I can speak, small fingers curling around two of mine, tentative.
I stay.
“I’m not good at this,” I say quietly.
Her thumb brushes my knuckles.
“You don’t have to be good. Just here. Hold me.”
That does something to me I don’t have words for.
I shift back and lay down behind her, fully clothed. Boots left by the door. One arm above the blanket, between us. A line I draw and don’t cross.
But she edges back anyway, slow and uncertain, until her back meets my chest.
I don’t pull her closer. I just breathe her in.
Vanilla shampoo. Warm skin. That quiet note of trust she hasn’t spoken aloud.
She exhales, long and low. The kind of sigh people only make when something inside finally loosens.
She trusts me. Not just with her safety—
With her fear. With her space. With herself.
My hand hovers near her waist. Not touching. Just… there.
She shifts again, fitting closer.
“This okay?” she whispers.
I close my eyes.
“Yeah,” I say, low. “This is okay.”
And I stay like that, wide awake. Every muscle wired. Every nerve tuned to the girl pressed gently to my chest.
Testing every ounce of control I’ve got.
Chapter 5
Nadia
It’sthechangeinhis breathing that wakes me.
Deeper. Slower. The steady rhythm of someone who let his guard down just enough to drift.
I stay still, tucked against him, listening.
