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But I’ll take it.
“You okay?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’m on the verge of strangling my own instincts just to stay calm.
She laughs. Sort of.
More like a sound that got halfway to laughter and gave up.
“No. But I am now.”
I stop a foot from the bed.
Her hands are shaking in her lap. My hands are fists, every part of me screaming to close the distance.
“Tell me what you need, sweetheart,” I murmur. “Anything. I’ll give it.”
She hesitates.
Her thighs shift, flexing, trying to relieve pressure that can’t be helped.
“I want -” she stops. Licks her lips. Tries again. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
“You won’t be.”
“Just… stay,” she whispers. “Hold me. Please.”
That’s it.
I’m done.
I toe off my boots, peel off my sweatshirt, and climb into her little chaos fortress like I’m approaching a live grenade.
She doesn’t wait. She climbs into my lap like she’s been waiting her whole life to do it.
She tucks herself against my chest, hands grabbing at me like she’s worried I’ll vanish. Her breath ghosts over my throat, hot and frantic, and even though my entire body is locked up like a loaded gun, I wrap my arms around her.
Her breath catches, then evens out. I press my lips to the top of her head.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur.
Her answer is quiet, muffled against my skin. “I know.”
And yeah, every part of me is screaming for more. Screaming to scent her, pin her, fuck her full and make it stick.
But I don’t.
Because this?
This is the job. The mission.
And she chose me to see her through it.
So I stay. Even if it kills me.
(Which, honestly - it just might.)
Chapter Twenty-One
Lucian
