My fingers twisted in his shirt, pulling him closer without thinking.
I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I just knew I wanted him there — the weight of him, the warmth, the steady strength in the way he held himself back even now.
“Breathe,” he murmured, forehead touching mine.
His hand crept under my waist band to the soft, cotton below. His mouth fell over my breasts through my borrowed shirt, leaving damp traces. His tongue flicked out over me, burning me from the inside.
I arched on the couch as the feeling took hold.
His hand moved again — slower, deeper pressure through the fabric of my underwear, the rhythm making my breath break into small, helpless sounds. I hid my face against his shoulder, my body gravitating toward him before I could stop myself.
“That’s it,” he said, voice low and strained now, breath hot at my temple. “You’re okay.”
Like he needed to convince himself as much as me.
When the feeling crested through me, I bit my cheek to stifle the cry.
It was like I was soaring through space without fear of falling.
I felt only heat. I could hear the quiet sound of our breathing tangled together in the dark.
His forehead rested against mine, both of us still for a moment like the world had narrowed to the space between our bodies. His hand remained at my waist, steady, grounding, like he wasn’t ready to let go — not yet.
“You okay?” he murmured.
I nodded, my voice too full to trust. “Yeah.”
I felt different. Less afraid.
Full of possibility.
Because he had touched me.
Dev hadtouched me.
And we were okay.
He pressed a slow kiss to my temple, lingering there, and I let my eyes fall closed. The storm in my chest softened into something warm and deep.
We didn’t move apart.
We just stayed like that — wrapped around each other, breath evening out — while the world outside kept turning, unaware that something quiet and important had shifted between us.
Chapter 23
Kieran
I ducked down low and watched the soldiers pour in.
The white uniforms were stark against the dim landscape.
The base was makeshift, built of portacoms and tents next to an old airbase and close enough to the Moorshire compound to be an issue.
I could see the mountain range from where we stood. It wouldn’t take them long to get there should they choose to attack again.
They were missing helicopters. I could see several men working in a hangar, trying to rebuild one from the ruins.
Trying to reclaim the choppers we already took down.
