All the power in the world doesn’t matter, nothing does… except this moment. He let me touch him, let me hold the reigns, not because he owns me. But because he’s afraid I don’t choose to be owned.
After a while, he lifts his head, kisses me slow, and I taste salt on his lips.
“You okay?” I ask.
He nods. “Better than okay. I’ve never done that before… I just…” Shame colors his features.
Holding his cheeks between his hands, I pull his face to mine and kiss his forehead. “It’s okay to be taken care of sometimes, Briar. You don’t always have to be strong. I can protect you too, maybe not physically, but your heart.”
He stands, cleans us both up with the blanket from the couch, then pulls me to my feet.
We walk to the bedroom together, and this time, we both get under the covers.
He spoons me, arms wrapped around my chest, and I feel his heartbeat, steady and real.
I stay awake for hours, afraid that if I fall asleep, I’ll wake up and this will all be gone.
But it isn’t.
He’s still there when I finally drift off.
The next morning, the world is the same, but I’m not.
We’re not.
I sit at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, watching the snow pile up against the window. Briar comes down the stairs, hair a mess, shirtless, and I let myself stare.
He pours himself a mug, sits across from me.
We don’t talk for a long time.
It hits me that this might be the first time in Briar’s life that he ever let himself be vulnerable with another human being.
This is the first time he’s offered me something he can’t take back… his soul.
Then he says, “You could run. You could leave, and I’d let you. I’ll make sure they don’t track you.”
I shake my head. “I’m staying.”
He looks relieved. Maybe even grateful.
“Why?” he asks.
I finish the coffee, set the mug down. “Because you need someone to remind you you’re more than a weapon. And because I want to see what happens if we both stop running.”
He laughs, for real this time.
“Then I guess we have a plan.”
The silence after isn’t heavy. It’s comfortable.
I look out the window, watch the snow, and know that whatever comes next, I won’t face it alone.
The feeling is foreign, but I want the future.
Even if it kills me.
Chapter Twelve: Briar
