She was curled against me, bare leg hooked over mine, her cheek resting on my chest like she’d been built to fit there. I traced the smooth length of her spine, slow as I memorized the way she felt under my palm, so soft.
Her hair tickled my chin when I breathed in—lavender shampoo, a hint of her lotion, the warmth of her skin. The quilt was tangled around our waists, soft from years of washing, and her hand was splayed across my ribs like she’d forgotten she’d put it there.
I should’ve been content. More than content. She was here, in my arms, letting me hold her like I’d always wanted. But a thought had been pressing at the edges of my mind since we’d started seeing each other, and I couldn’t quiet it anymore.
I slid my hand up her back, fingertips tracing the curve of her shoulder blade. “Paige?”
“Mmm?” She shifted slightly, her knee sliding higher against my hip, eyes still half-closed.
“Where do we stand? You and me. Can we talk about it, just a little bit? I need to know—I need to know that it’s okay to want more.”
Her lashes lifted, and for a second, the light caught in her eyes—brown with a golden ring around the edges, sharp and soft all at once. She didn’t pull away, but I felt the pause in her body.
She didn’t answer.
I kept my voice low, steady. “I need to know what this is to you. I’m in your house, in bed with you. I’ve been inside your body. And you have to know you’re in my heart.”
She took a breath and let it out slowly, her gaze holding mine. “I’m with you, Hunter. I am.” Her hand flexed lightly against my chest, like she was preparing herself to let me down. “I just don’t want to go public. Not yet.”
The words settled in my heart like a stone.
I nodded, keeping my expression easy even though something in me tightened. I understood why she wanted to hide what had happened between us, but it still hurt. “Okay.”
Her brow furrowed, the line between her eyebrows deepening. “It’s not about you. It’s about the kids. And the gossip. And—” She looked away briefly, her hair sliding across my arm, “I can’t take all of that on top of everything else right now.”
“I get it,” I said, and I meant it. But it didn’t stop the ache in my chest.
Her eyes searched mine. “You’re not mad, are you?”
“No,” I murmured, brushing my thumb along her jaw, feeling the faint flutter of her pulse there. “Not mad.” I just wished I could tell the whole damn town she was mine and that everyone knew I was hers so I could protect her like I needed to.
She relaxed against me again, tilting her face up. I met her halfway, our mouths brushing first in a slow, testing kiss, then again deeper, her lips parting under mine as her fingers slid up to cup the back of my neck. The way she kissed me made it hard to remember that she wanted to keep this quiet.
When she pulled back, her forehead rested against mine. “I like this,” she whispered. “Us. I just need to keep it ours for now. I need to keep it safe.”
I pressed my lips to her temple, feeling the warmth of her skin and the faint, steady beat of her heart under my palm. “Ours,” I repeated.
She smiled faintly and curled back into my side, her leg still tangled with mine, her hand warm over my heart. Outside, the light faded as the sun slid behind a cloud, leaving the room nothing but shadows and the soft, shifting shapes of us tangled together on the bed.
She didn’t hear the part I didn’t say—it’s not what I want, but I’ll take it if it’s all you can give me.
She shifted against me, sighing in that way she did when she was finally letting herself rest. Her leg slid free, but she kept her hand over my heart, fingers curled loosely like she was holding onto something without realizing it.
“This is just a nap,” she murmured, eyes already drifting closed. “I have to be at the bar later. Grandpa’s coming over to be with the girls.”
I smoothed a strand of hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “I know. I’ll make sure you get up.”
Her lips curved faintly, like she didn’t quite believe I’d wake her when the time came. “Don’t let me sleep too long. No more than twenty minutes.”
“I’ll try,” I said, even though part of me wanted to keep her here until morning.
She let out another slow breath and settled in, the steady rhythm of it telling me she was already half under. I stayed still, memorizing the way she looked like this—quiet, unwound, the furrow between her brows finally gone. She was fucking beautiful.
Her grandfather would show up soon. He’d take care of the girls, and she’d head out to the Twilight Tavern, stepping into her role like she hadn’t just been here in my arms, telling me she was mine in every way except the one I wanted most.
I wanted to believe her “for now” meant temporary, that she’d get to a place where she could walk into the bar with me at her side and not care who saw.
For now, I’d take this. Her warmth against me. Her trust.
