Heavy.
Bone-deep.
And before I can think too hard about what just happened—or what it means—I fall asleep.
Alone.
And I don’t hear him come back in.
Chapter 13-Benji
She thinks I’m backing away.
I see it in her eyes before she turns.
In the way her shoulders go tight.
The way her voice goes careful. Controlled.
When she’s telling me any consequences are hers to face alone—trying to give me a way out—I swear it feels like a sucker punch right to my nut sack.
But I see her. Really see her.
Esme’s just bracing for impact all over again.
She thinks this—us—was a mistake.
She’s wrong.
So fucking wrong it almost makes me laugh.
But I don’t.
Because if I open my mouth right now—if I say what’s sitting heavy on my tongue—I won’t be able to take it back.
I want to pound my chest like a beast and roar. Toss her over my shoulder and fuck her till she’s too weak to leave my bed—ever.
Because this? This isn’t a mistake.
This isn’t some trip down memory lane.
This isn’t just sex.
This is inevitable.
This is fucking kismet.
This is the one thing in my life I know, down to the marrow in my bones, is real.
You’re mine, Esme.
The words echo in my head like a promise. Like a warning.
And I’m not letting you go.
Not again.
Not now that I know the truth.
