Instead, her forehead rested against his, her whisper feathering between them.“Don’t.”
His next kiss wasn’t tentative.Not at all.It was explosive, toxic, and utterly mind-blowing, as if he’d been holding himself together by sheer will and finally let go.
And the world of stalkers, break-ins, and hidden cameras fell away until there was only this moment.Only this heat, and the terrifying, impossible, undeniable certainty that she was falling for the man risking everything to keep her standing.
#
The house had gonequiet.Even the walls seemed to be holding their breath.Somewhere downstairs, Anja was asleep, and Kayne probably was too.The heater hummed, keeping the house comfortably warm, a steady sound meant to reassure.
Chloe couldn’t sleep.
Her pulse was still unsteady from that kiss—God,thatkiss—and from the adrenaline that had been living under her epidermis for days.She lay curled on top of the covers of her bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to every creak and groan of the house until every sound felt like a threat.
This was ridiculous.She was fine.
A whisper of fear slid down her spine.
She wasn’t fine.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she slipped out of bed, tiptoed down the short hallway, and stopped outside Kayne’s door.Light spilled beneath it.He wasn’t asleep.
She lifted her hand and knocked with two quick taps before she could stop herself.
The door opened almost instantly, and she wondered if he’d been standing on the other side.Kayne’s expression shifted from alert to concern in half a second, his body already angling toward hers in a way that said “here” before he even spoke.
“Chloe?”His voice was laced with that Cajun drawl that made her knees threaten to betray her.“Everythin’ all right?”
No.Yes.Maybe.None of the answers made sense.
She tugged the cotton sleeve of her T-shirt.“Can I come in?”
He stepped aside without hesitation, giving her space without crowding her.“You need somethin’,cher?”he asked gently.
Her throat tightened.She shouldn’t ask.She absolutely should not ask.But the words pushed forward anyway.
“Can you—” Her voice cracked.She swallowed and tried again.“Will you stay with me tonight?”
He went very still.Not tense.Just focused, as if he was weighing her need against his own instincts to protect her from everything, himself included.
“You mean in your room?”
She nodded, mortified and stubborn all at once.“I don’t want to be alone.”
Kayne watched her face, giving her every chance to change her mind.When she didn’t flinch, he cupped a hand lightly around her elbow.“You want me to hold you?”
She hated the vulnerability of it.Hated how much she needed it.“Yes.”
He studied her for a long moment, reading all the places she was trying, and failing, to keep herself together.Then he nodded once, decisive and gentle all at the same time.
“Of course.”
Kayne lay down first, deliberately staying above the covers, marking invisible boundary lines only he could see.He draped one arm along the pillow and waited, not saying a word.
She made the choice anyway.
Chloe tucked in beside him, her head settling against his shoulder, her body fitting into the line of his as if it had been quietly practicing for this moment all along.His warmth wrapped around her instantly, steady and solid in a way nothing else had been since this nightmare began.
His arm came around her then, firm enough to support her, but gentle enough not to trap.He understood the difference mattered.
