Her leaving was wrong.
His soul ached at the thought of a future without her by his side.
Fokk, he’d gotten attached so fast.
His heart throbbed, and unable to process her inevitable departure, he lurched away without a word.
His boots crunched through the frozen snow as he retreated toward the dark sanctuary of the pines, his aimless direction driven only by the need to escape the crushing gravity of her words.
Her footsteps hurried after him, the sound of her labored breathing stabbing through the thin air. She reached out, catching his arm and spinning him around.
‘Idan, talk to me, please. What did I say wrong?’
He paused, his lips pulled into a tight line as he fought to find the right words.
After a few long, silent moments, he took a ragged inhale.
‘Perhaps, Sheba, I don’t want you to go.’
She blinked up at him, stunned into silence.
‘Maybe it’s too soon to say this,’ he growled on. ‘I don’t want you to feel like you owe me a single favor, but I also don’t want to lose you. I’ve gotten used to you, and -.’
He paused, seeking the right words, cursing under his breath. ‘- the thought of you gonefokkin’ blades.’
He gave a small, helpless shrug. ‘You also might not feel the same and want to be free of this place. Yet it feels like I’ve got a countdown clock onwhateverthefokkthis is.’
He gazed at her, his silver-gold eyes searching hers. ‘I’d never stop you from pursuing your dreams. But you leave, I’ll freakin’ be unmoored.’
Sheba stood frozen for a moment, overwhelmed by the confession, by his raw passion.
With a soft sigh, she stepped into his space and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.
‘Well, well,’ she teased, her voice muffled against his chest. ‘Now it’s my turn to talk you off a ledge. Idan, the truth is, I’m experiencing everything you are. You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and you’ve got me completely shook.’
She pulled back just enough to look at him. ‘But I don’t want to rush into mistakes we’ll regret. Let’s take it day by day. Let’s explore this connection and see where it goes. If that means leaving together, we do it. If we stay, we stay. But we’ll decide it as one.’
Relief washed over him, and he exhaled, his shoulders relaxing.
He stood holding her close for a few more moments before he found more words.
‘Santefor being the voice of reason. I’m losing my mind because I’m wild for you, woman,’ he murmured. ‘Fokk,inna son su.That’s my native language forI adore you.’
That’s when she reached for him, sinking her hands into his hair and pulling him down into a searing, desperate kiss.
Her sudden, untamed hunger shattered his remaining restraint.
The kiss ignited, shifting from an innocent gesture of comfort to a savage collision of flesh and tongue.
Idan molded her to his frame, mapping her curves through the heavy wool of her gear, his palms memorizing the flow of her body.
She pressed into the hard, rising heat of his desire, grinding her hips against his until the friction threatened to consume them both in the snow.
Sense returned like a splash of glacial water.
Sheba tore herself away, her breath coming in desperate gasps. ‘Sorry. I mauled you.Fokk, I shouldn’t have -.’
‘At what point did I signal refusal?’ Idan interrupted, in a hoarse, gravelly rasp.
