Page 68 of One Forbidden Moment

His chest pounded.Fuck, she was the bravest soul he'd ever known.No matter what tried to beat her down, she refused to give up.

"Moe," she whispered, "I'm scared."

He reached out and took her hands gently, his rough palms closing around her smaller ones."I know."

She swallowed hard."It's getting worse."

"Yeah."

"Why is it so determined to take me?"

He lifted her hands to his chest, holding them there like he needed her touch to stay upright.He looked into her eyes.

"Because you matter to me," he said quietly.

Her neck stiffened."What?"

He took a slow breath, steadying himself.It was plain for him to see why the shadow wanted her.He wasn't good with words.He wasn't good with feelings.But he'd been carrying his feelings inside him for weeks.It was time to let them out.

"You're the only thing that makes sense to me anymore," he said."My time in Everstill.My past.Everything is foggy.It's hard to remember the details.But you...I feel everything, sweetheart.I remember one day to the next."

Her breath hitched.

"Everstill took everything from me.Years.Memories.Pieces of who I was.It tried to keep me away from living.Tried to break me.Tried to make me forget what it felt like to be human."He lifted her chin gently so she would look at him."And then you showed up."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"You pulled me out," he said."Not the veil.Not luck.You.You're the reason I'm here.You're the reason I'm still not trapped in that place.You're the reason I'm not lost anymore."

She squeezed his hands, trembling.

He leaned closer, forehead almost touching hers."You're my lifeline, Jillian.The only one I've ever had."

A tear slid down her cheek.

He brushed it away with his thumb, as gently as he could."Everstill isn't taking you.Not while I'm breathing.Not while I can stand between you and whatever controls the rift."

She let out a shaky breath."Moe..."

He cupped her face."I'm not letting it take you.I'm not letting it ruin what we have together.You hear me?"

She nodded, tears falling freely now.He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, holding her close, holding her like she was the only thing keeping him alive.

And maybe she was.

Maybe she always had been.

The darkness might have followed him across the rift.It might have chosen Jillian.But he'd chosen her, too.

Jillian stayed in his arms, her face pressed against his chest, her fingers curled lightly in the fabric of his shirt.Moe held her, letting her breathe against him until her trembling eased.

When she finally pulled back, she didn't go far.She kept her hands on his chest, her eyes trying to understand something too big to name.

"Moe," she whispered, "I'm afraid of losing you."

He swallowed hard."You won't."

She shook her head, tears gathering again."Everstill took you once.It could take you again.It could take you away from me."