She does.
I slide in beside her, every inch of me strung tight. Electric. She’s warm. Too warm. My shirt rides high on her thighs, and she knows it. She shifts closer. Bare skin meets mine, soft and dangerous.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “You tryin’ to kill me, darlin’?”
She doesn’t answer. Just looks at me, wide-eyed, lips parted, breath shallow like she’s waiting for something to break.
I lean in, my voice rough against her ear. “You don’t even know what I’d do to you if I lost control.”
She turns toward me, her breath brushing my jaw.
“Then lose it,” she whispers. “I want to find out.”
I groan into the dim glow, one hand gripping the mattress like it’ll keep me grounded.
And still, I don’t touch her.
Not yet.
Because once I do, there’s no going back.
Chapter 6
Sierra
Thecabinisquiet,but nothing inside me is.
Knox lies inches away. Big. Solid. Warm. The mattress dips with his weight, and I can feel the tension humming off him like a live wire.
I said the words.Then lose it. I want to find out.
But now I’m lying here, breath shallow, heart galloping, wondering if I meant them as bravely as they sounded.
He hasn’t touched me. Not yet.
That restraint should settle me. It doesn’t.
It makes me ache.
I shouldn’t want this. I just met him. I’m all alone in this world. I’m technically in hiding. Nothing in my life makes sense, except the way Knox makes me feel.
Safe.
Seen.
Wanted.
Not like I’m a problem to be solved, but a person worthprotecting. Worth wanting, even when I’m unraveling.
His breath is steady beside me, but I know he’s not asleep.
I roll onto my side, heart hammering, and turn toward him in the soft glow of the bedside lamp.
“I need to tell you something,” I whisper.
A beat. Then his voice, low and rough. “Yeah?”
I swallow. “I’ve never… I mean—I haven’t—”
