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“Miss Veda, don’t play like that.”

She nodded.

“’I really do preciate this, though.”

“You better. Just remember, when those hours are up, I’m taking that body right back. I don’t care if you mid-sentence, mid-argument, or mid-stroke. Clock hit zero, your ass is coming back to me.”

I burst out laughing. “Miss Veda, you ain’t right.”

“And you ain’t alive. Yet here we are. So whatever you got planned, pace yourself. This ain’t an unlimited data plan.”

When I finally felt my heart beating again, I damn near forgot why I’d asked for the favor in the first place.

I stood beside the bed, looking down at my hands.

Real hands.

Warm skin.

A body that didn't fade every time I tried to move.

I took a breath… an actual fucking breath.

Then I looked at Lakelyn.

She stirred when I lay beside her, her body shifting slightly beneath the covers before her eyes slowly opened. For a second, she just blinked at me, dazed and heavy with sleep. Then something changed in her face, and I saw something I hadn’t seen in six years.

Recognition.

Not the kind where she thought she saw a shadow move across the room. Not the kind where she felt somebody standing nearby, caught the faint scent of my cologne, or convinced herself her mind was playing tricks on her because she missed me too much.

This was different.

Her eyes settled on my face and stayed there, moving slowly over every feature like she was trying to make sense of what she was seeing without scaring it away.

“Caspian?” she whispered.

That one word damn near broke something in me.

“Yeah, baby.”

Her breath caught, and I watched the emotions move across her face all at once. Confusion. Fear. Hope. Disbelief.

She looked like she wanted to reach for me and run from me at the same time, like believing I was really there might hurt worse than convincing herself I wasn’t. I had imagined this moment more times than I could count, but none of those fantasies prepared me for the way she looked at me now.

Miss Veda’s warning came rushing right back to me.

Be careful with that girl’s heart and mental.

So I didn’t crowd her, grab her, or start talking too fast. I stayed where I was and let Lakelyn take me in, because after six years of unanswered questions, she deserved more than me crashing back into her life like none of that time had passed.

The rest of that night belonged to us… just me and Lakelyn, holding on to each other like we were trying to make up for every second we’d lost.

I didn’t leave Lakelyn until my two hours were almost up.

She was lying against my chest, smiling in her sleep, when Miss Veda's voice came through the room.

“Caspian.”