James steered me away from the main paths, taking the long way around to our dorm. His body blocked me from view when we passed groups of students. Protective without being obvious.
My cowboy. Always watching out for me.
We made it to my dorm building without incident. Up the stairs. Down the hall. Past doors that were still closed, their occupants still sleeping or already gone.
Ivy's bed was empty when we slipped inside.
James closed the door behind us. Locked it.
The click of the lock was loud in the silence.
I stood in the middle of my room, arms wrapped around myself, shaking with something that wasn't cold. The tears had stopped, but the emptiness they'd left behind was worse. I felt hollowed out. Scraped raw.
"Lumi."
James's voice, soft. Close.
I turned.
He was right there. Close enough to touch. His eyes were dark, searching my face with an intensity that made my breath catch.
"What do you need?" he asked.
The question was simple. The answer wasn't.
I needed to stop thinking. Needed to stop feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. Needed something to anchor me to my body, to this moment, to anything that wasn't the impossible future stretching out ahead.
I neededhim.
"You," I said. "I need you."
Something shifted in his expression. The concern didn't disappear, but something else rose alongside it. Heat. Want. The same want I'd been too exhausted to feel for weeks, suddenly blazing back to life.
"Are you sure?" His voice was rougher now. Strained. "You've been through a lot. I don't want to—"
"James." I stepped closer. Put my hands on his chest, felt his heart pounding beneath my palms. "I'm sure. Please. I need to feel something that isn't falling apart."
He was still for a long moment. Searching my eyes. Looking for doubt, for hesitation, for any sign that I didn't mean it.
He didn't find any.
"Okay," he breathed. "Okay."
Then his mouth was on mine.
The kiss wasn't gentle. Wasn't careful. It was desperate — his lips hard against mine, his hands gripping my waist like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go. I opened for him immediately, letting him in, letting the heat of him burn away everything else.
The bond exploded between us.
His want and mine, tangled together, feeding each other. I gasped against his mouth and he swallowed the sound, one hand sliding up my back, the other fisting in my hair.
"I've got you," he murmured against my lips. "I've got you, Lumi. Just feel."
I stopped thinking.
Let my body take over. Let the bond guide me, pulling me closer, demanding more.
His hands found the hem of my shirt.
