My eyes go immediately to the bed.It’sbig—big enough for both of us.
My heart starts to pound again, but for a different reason this time.
Is he going to…does he want to…doIwant to?—
Yes.
The answer comes from deep inside me, immediate and undeniable.
Yes,Ido.Iwant to be with him again—Iwant to have him inside me.Withoutanyone watching this time.
The thought makes heat rise in my cheeks, butIdon’t say anything.Ican still feelTheron—his emotions…his awareness of me…the way his gaze lingers just a fraction too long when he looks first a me, then at the bed, and back to me again.
For a moment, neither of us moves.Thenhe exhales slowly.
“Come on,” he says quietly, and we lie down together.
The mattress dips beneath his weight as he settles beside me.Thespace between us feels charged and fragile and full of everything we’re not saying.
I wait for him to say something—to make the first move.Everypart of me is aware of him—the heat of his skin…the steady rise and fall of his chest…the faint brush of his shoulder against mine.
But instead of reaching for me the wayIexpect, instead of kissing me or touching me, he wraps his long, muscular arms around me and pulls me close.
I reach for him through the new connection we seem to have and find thatIdon’t feel any desire—just sadness.
“Let me just hold you tonight, baby,” he murmurs against my hair.“Aftertomorrow,I’llnever get to hold you again.”
Something inside my heart twists painfully.Ifeel so much yearning coming from him—he doesn’t want to let me go.Hedoesn’t want what we have together to end.
I don’t want it to end either,Irealize.Iwant to stay with him.Iwant to build a life together.Couldit be he feels the same way?
“Maybe…”Myvoice trembles butIhave to push the words out beforeIlose my courage.“Maybewe don’t have to part,”Isay.“MaybeIdon’t have to do the spell.”
Theron goes still against me, andIfeel an instant surge of hope that floods through him—bright and sudden and overwhelming.
A wave of elations washes over me—Iwas right!Hewants us to stay together!Myheart lifts…and then it shatters.
Because just as quickly, the hopeIfelt from him is gone, crushed beneath something heavier—some emotion so darkI’mnot even sure it has a name.
“No, baby,” he says softly.“It’sbetter for you to do the spell.Wecan’t stay together—Iwouldn’t be good for you.”
The words echo in my chest.
I wouldn’t be good for you.
I turn away before he can see my face…before he can see how much that hurts.
I thought maybe he wanted me…thought maybe whatIwas feeling from him meant something more—something for the future.
ButIwas wrong.Allwe have—all we’ll ever have—is the present and the past.Nofuture for us.
I squeeze my eyes shut as tears slip free, silent and hot against the pillow.
NowIknow for sureIhave no choice—Ihaveto do theTimeWeavingspell.
I have to go back because whatever this is between us was never meant to last.
I fall asleep with my heart aching and tears still wet on my cheeks, holding onto one final, painful resolve.
