Like a dam finally breaking under the pressure of so much water.
Because right then all I could think was the one word I should’ve been running from.
Mine.
Amrin was mine.
Mine to protect.
Mine to comfort.
Mine to keep safe from every cruel thing this world had ever done to her.
I reached for her before logic could stop me.
Before fear could remind me she deserved better than someone like me.
My hands closed around her waist.
Warm.
Soft.
Real.
The contact detonated through my nervous system instantly.
Gods.
Every inch of exposed skin where we touched lit up like ley lines beneath a storm.
I closed my eyes briefly against the sheer force of it.
This female was dangerous.
Not because she weakened me.
Because she made me want things I’d long ago buried.
Hope.
Connection.
Belonging.
“You never have to be afraid again, Luna,” I growled.
The promise came from somewhere deep.
Primal.
Absolute.
Then I pulled her into me.
Amrin gasped softly as her body collided with mine, small hands catching against my shoulders for balance.
She didn’t push away.
