“Bed?” he rasps, voice wrecked.
I nod, throat tight. “Bed.”
Knox carries me over the threshold of his cabin like I’m already his wife, already his forever. And maybe… maybe I am.
But for tonight, I let myself forget the weight of that word and the world.
Tonight, I let myself belong only to him.
18
KNOX
Bed becomes our sanctuary the next day.
The world shrinks to us, into skin and sheets, to sweat and breath and the sound of her laugh muffled against pillows.
We barely notice morning melting into afternoon as we revel in the light tilting through the blinds until it’s a burnished gold across her skin.
She’s everywhere, her scent in the blankets, her hair tangled in my fingers, her taste still on my tongue.
I haul trays in when I can tear myself away from her body long enough to feed her. Gumbo and biscuits and cider, bread slathered with jam that sticks to her chin. She feeds me with her fingers, giggling when I lick them clean, and I eat off her thighs like she’s a feast. We fuck until sweat soaks the mattress, until our lungs burn, until she claws at me and sobs when I make her come again and again. Then we collapse, tangled and half-asleep, only to start all over.
A whole day, gone in a haze of her.
And yet… neither of us say it.
What we’re truly feeling.
The weight of the words lodges in my throat every time I look at her.
I love you, Lily Hartley. So fucking much. With everything inside of me and out.
Every time she pushes her hair back with that shy flick of her wrist. Every time she curls into my chest like it’s her safest haven. I know what she is. Everything I’ve ever wanted. Everything I didn’t believe I’d get.
But I don’t say it.
Because demons don’t stay dead.
They crouch in the corners, waiting. Reminding me that I’ve been here before—too many promises, too much hope. I’ve seen what happens when I let myself believe someone could be mine for real. They always leave. They always cut deep.
I’ve already had a bitter taste of it.
The way she froze when family slipped into the conversation at the fair. How she brushed it off, smile faltering for a fraction of a second.
Like the idea of tying herself to me, to this mountain, was a weight she couldn’t bear to hold for more than a heartbeat.
That flicker gutted me wide open.
I thought I knew what a crushed heart felt like. I’ve had lovers betray me, managers steal from me, brothers in arms turn their backs. But this truth? If she walks… if Lily can’t bring herself to stay, to love me—I won’t survive it.
So today I don’t plan and I don’t promise.
I bury myself inside today. Inside her.
The only thing I can be sure of is the heat of her skin under my palms, the way her breath hitches when I slide into her, the small sounds she makes against my mouth.
I press my face to her neck, inhaling her like oxygen, and I pray to every dark god listening that today never ends. Thatwhen morning comes, she’s still here, still reaching for me, still whispering my name.
