“He won’t,” I say.
Her gaze searches mine, something new there now, something softer, something that trusts.
And that changes everything.
The tension shifts.
Her breath brushes my jaw, warm and unsteady, her fingers sliding slightly against my shirt as she steadies herself, and then her eyes flick to my mouth.
I feel the moment before it happens.
The choice.
This time, neither of us pulls back.
I close the distance slowly, giving her time to stop me, to step away, but she doesn’t.
Her lips meet mine, tentative at first, and then deeper, slower, like everything she’s feeling has nowhere else to go. The tension from outside, the fear, the adrenaline, it all twists into something else between us, something hotter, something that pulls tighter instead of breaking.
I slide my hand up from her waist, steadying her as the kiss deepens, controlled but not restrained, and she leans into it, into me, like she needs this just as much as I do.
For a moment, everything else disappears.
No woods.
No shadow.
Just her.
Then a sharp crack echoes outside, closer than before.
We both freeze.
The moment breaks, but the shift between us doesn’t.
It stays.
Lingering.
Changing everything.
Chapter 11
Maddie
The sound outside lingers long after it fades, settling somewhere deep in my chest like an echo that refuses to disappear.
It feels sharp and hollow at the same time, like something is still out there, still waiting, just beyond what I can see.
But I don’t move.
I don’t step away.
Because Ethan is still right in front of me, one hand braced beside my head, the other steady at my waist, his body close enough that it feels like he is the only thing holding the world in place.
And right now, he is.
My fingers are still twisted into his shirt, knuckles tight, and I don’t remember deciding to grab him or leaning in or closing that distance. I only know that when I saw that man, when I felt how close he was, something inside me shifted.
