Page 50 of The Cost of Silence

I freeze.

She blinks up at me, eyes heavy with exhaustion. “Don’t go.”

My throat goes tight. “You’re safe. I’m right outside.”

She shakes her head, barely a movement, but it’s enough. “Stay… here.” A breath. “With me. Just until I fall asleep.”

Every muscle in my body locks. Because I can’t. Because I want to. Because staying is a line I don’t trust myself not to cross.

She whispers, “I feel safe when you’re close.”

And that’s it. That’s the hit that takes me down.

I sit on the edge of the bed. Slowly. Carefully. Like any wrong move will shatter us both.

She shifts, making space, reaching for me without even opening her eyes fully. Instinct over logic. Need over fear.

I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t, but God help me, I want this piece of her.

I lie down beside her, on top of the blankets, putting an ocean of restraint between us even as she curls instinctively into the warmth of my body, forcing me to curl my arm around her and tug her close.

Her hand finds my chest, the lightest of touches, but my body is on the edge and electricity zings through me straight to my cock.

My heartbeat is a hammer.

“Nico?” she whispers, already fading.

“Yes, Belle?”

“Thank you… for staying.”

I swallow hard. “Go to sleep.”

Her breathing steadies almost instantly, and I lie there rigid with the weight of her trust, her warmth, the shape of her body fitting against mine like something I shouldn’t touch.

Just until she falls asleep.

That’s what I tell myself.

But even after sleep takes her again, I don’t move.

Can’t move.

Because there’s a monster hunting her.

And tonight, I’m the one standing watch.

And God help anyone, even myself, if they try to take this away from me.

Because I’m starting to think this woman might be mine.

15.Isabella

I wake to warmth.

Soft, heavy, comforting. And for a split second, before consciousness sharpens, I think he’s still here.

My hand drifts across the sheets instinctively, searching for a broad chest, warm skin, the steady rise and fall of his breathing.