She met me thrust for thrust, hands digging into my back, pulling me closer like we could fuse into one if we just tried hard enough.
This wasn’t just sex.
It wasn’t even love.
It was devotion. Obsession.
A sacred promise written in skin and sweat and gasps.
And I’d never let her go.
Not now.
Not ever.
The scent of vanilla and batter filled the kitchen, curling around the edges of my calm like smoke. The skillet hissed beneath my hand as I flipped the crepe, golden and perfect. Sunlight poured through the windows, warming the floor, softening the moment.
And there she was—Seph—curled on the couch in one of my shirts, drowning in fabric I hadn’t meant to give her, but would never ask to have back. It hung loose on her shoulder, teasing a glimpse of bare skin that burned into my memory like a brand.
She sighed, content, and my heart clenched.
God help anyone who tried to take this from me.
Then the knock came.
Sharp. Wrong. Intrusive.
My body tensed instantly, every muscle coiling like I’d been pulled from sleep into war. I didn’t even think. The knife was in my hand, blade still slick with strawberries. I slid it into my waistband beneath my shirt, my fingers already curling into fists.
The knock came again—louder, more demanding.
She stood, and I wanted to stop her. I wanted to pull her back to me, tuck her behind my ribs where nothing could touch her. But she walked to the door like she wasn’t terrified. Like she still believed we were safe here.
She cracked it open just enough.
“Can I help you?” Her voice was steady. Beautiful. But I heard the tremor beneath it. The one no one else would’ve noticed.
And then I heard his voice. Gruff. Official.
“Ma’am, I’m looking for Callista Moore.”
Fuck.
Seph’s body tensed just slightly, but she didn’t waver. “Callista? Why? What’s going on?”
The officer paused—just long enough to let suspicion creep in. “She’s been reported missing.”
Missing.
No. Callista wasn’t missing. Callista was gone.
I stepped closer behind Seph, quiet as breath, watching the way the officer’s eyes flicked over her—then landed on me.
“As her sister, I wanted to reach out to you directly.”
There it was. The line. The threat wrapped in civility.
Seph didn’t flinch. Didn’t break.
