I nod.
He fills a kettle and sets it on the stove. His hands are steady. Competent. The kind of hands that know how to handle weapons and engines, and apparently kettles too.
I hover near the couch, unsure where to put myself. It’s ridiculous. I’ve been in houses before. I’m not a child.
But this isn’t a friend’s place. This is Wolf’s place. Or whatever his real name is.
His cabin. His quiet.
And I’m standing in it with my heart still racing and my mouth still swollen, and I can’t decide if I’m safe or if I’m about to do something I’ll never recover from.
Wolf glances back at me. “Sit.”
I do.
The couch is firm, worn in the middle like he’s spent a lot of nights here staring at the fire. I fold my hands in my lap to keep them from fidgeting.
The kettle starts to hiss softly.
Wolf pulls a mug from the cabinet. Then another. He sets them down, drops a tea bag into mine, and reaches for honey without thinking.
He turns, catches me watching him, and his eyes narrow a fraction.
“What?” he asks.
My cheeks heat. “Nothing.”
He huffs a short sound. Not a laugh. Close.
“You’re shaking,” he says.
“I’m fine.”
It’s automatic. A lie I’ve been trained to say.
Wolf’s gaze slides over me, not like Voss did. Not like men do when they think your body is for them to judge. Wolf looks like he’s assessing damage.
He steps closer, close enough that I can smell smoke and soap and something that’s just him.
His hand comes to my jaw, thumb brushing lightly over my cheek. The touch is careful, like he’s testing whether I’ll flinch.
I don’t.
My throat tightens.
“You’re safe here,” he says. “For tonight.”
Tonight.
The word has weight. Like he’s already thinking about tomorrow and doesn’t want to promise too much.
It should make me feel better.
It makes me want to ask for more.
The kettle whistles. Wolf lets go of my face and turns it off like he’s glad for the interruption. He pours the water, the steam curling between us. Sets my mug on the coffee table. Sets his own down beside it.
Then he sits in a chair across from me, angled like he can see the whole room without trying.
