Jake tightens his grip on her waist, pulling her closer until there is no space left between them. She deepens the kiss, caressing her tongue against his. He kisses her like he’s memorizing the shape of her. The world narrows to this one slow, burning kiss—the kind that doesn’t rush but lingers, exploring, wanting more.
The weight of him, the solidity, the undeniable reality of what was happening sends a thrill coursing through her.
Followed by panic.
It hits like a jolt to her chest—hot and dizzying. Her heart stutters,then races, thudding so loud it drowns out everything else. Her hands tremble, unsure whether to pull him closer or push him away. Every nerve in her body is lit with want, but beneath the rush is a sharp, slicing fear of the truth she’s trying to ignore. The kiss overwhelms her with adrenaline and guilt, each second stretching too long and not long enough. Her mind screams this is wrong, but her body is already leaning in.
Spinning out of control, she tries to anchor herself, to remember everything that she should be worried about—her brother, the consequences, the lines she swore she wouldn’t cross.
Natalie breaks the kiss gasping, pushing against his chest.
Jake looks at her, confusion in his eyes, and that’s when the fear of what she’s about to lose hits her. She doesn’t know how to reconcile what’s pulling at her—her desire for him, her loyalty to her brother, her fear of everything unraveling. How did we get here? She wants to scream, but the words stick in her throat.
“Jake, I—” her voice cracks, her hands trembling as she pushes against his chest, as if trying to create the space she desperately needs. “I can’t.”
The panic swells again, choking her, leaving her breathless. “Jesse?—”
Jake’s expression hardens. “Jesse,” he repeats, the name hanging between them like an accusation. He pulls away, sitting up with a wince and running a hand through his sleep-tousled hair. “It’s always about Jesse with you, isn’t it?”
Natalie sits up too, wrapping the blanket around herself even though she is fully clothed. The sudden distance between them feels vast. “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?” Jake’s eyes, so warm moments before, have cooled. “I’ve watched you organize your entire life around him.”
His words land like a physical blow. “He’s all I have. I’m all he has.”
“And you’re your own person,” Jake counters. “Or at least you should be.”
Anger flares, hot and defensive. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” Jake stands, creating even more distance between them. “I’ve seen you put everyone else first for the entire time I’ve known you.”
Natalie flinches. She hadn’t realized he’d noticed—hadn’t realized he’s been paying such close attention to the details of her life. “It’s not that simple.”
He sighs, the anger seeming to drain from him, leaving something sadder in its wake. “I thought that maybe, after last night, after this—” he gestures between them, “—you would give us a chance.”
The word “us” hangs in the air, a possibility both tantalizing and terrifying.
“There is no ‘us,’ Jake,” she says, the words slicing something deep inside her chest. “There can’t be. You know that.”
He looks at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “Putting Jesse first doesn’t mean putting yourself last, Natalie.”
He walks away then, disappearing into the kitchen. Natalie hears water running, cupboards opening. Normal morning sounds that feel painfully domestic after what had transpired.
She presses her fingers to her lips, still tingling from his kiss.
The logical part of her brain runs through the reasons, neatly laid out like a checklist: protect Jesse, avoid disaster, keep everything from unraveling. It tells her she did the right thing. The smart thing.
But logic is no match for the ache curling in her chest. The rest of her—the part that remembers the way Jake looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered, the way his hands felt on her skin, the way her name sounded on his lips—screams that she just made the biggest mistake of her life. That pushing him away might have been the safest option, but it sure as hell wasn’t the right one.
Outside, the snow continues to fall, trapping them in this house, with this new tension, and the memory of a kiss that had changed everything and nothing at all.
CHAPTER 27
NATALIE
By mid-morning, Natalie retreats to the window seat in the living room, the cup of tea she heated on an old camp stove cooling between her hands as she stares out at the transformed landscape. The snow piled even higher overnight, drifting against the side of the house and obscuring the walkway. The driveway where her car is parked is now a vague impression beneath a thick blanket of white.
The roads would be impassable. Another day trapped inside with Jake stretches before her, heavy with unresolved tension.
