I sway slightly—alcohol, proximity, the overwhelming want making me unsteady—and his grip tightens immediately, pulling me even closer to stabilize me.
To keep me.
Now there's no space at all.
I can feel his heart beating against mine. Can feel the tension in his body, the restraint it's costing him not to close the final distance.
His eyes have gone dark. Almost black. Fixed on my mouth. And I know—I know—if I lean forward even an inch, he'll kiss me.
That all this restraint, all this careful control, will shatter.
"Okay, lightweight."
Camilla's voice cuts through the haze like cold water.
She appears at my elbow, eyebrow raised, knowing smile on her face.
"I think you've had enough."
"I'm not drunk," I protest weakly, even though I absolutely am, only it’s not just the alcohol doing it and we both know it.
Nate's hands are still on my waist. He hasn't moved. Hasn't even stepped back.
"Nate, can you take her home?" Camilla asks, but she's looking at him with an intensity that feels like a warning and a blessing all at once. "We're heading back to the lake house, but I don't trust her alone tonight."
"I can take care of myself—" I start.
"I've got her," Nate interrupts, and there's finality in his tone.
Not controlling. Just absolutely certain.
Like there was never any other option. Like he'd fight anyone who suggested otherwise.
Camilla looks at him for a long moment, then at me, then back at him.
"Look after our girl," she says, and it sounds like both a request and a threat.
"Always," he says simply.
The promise in that single word makes my chest tight.
Makes my breath catch.
Makes me wonder what happens next.
CHAPTER 33
WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG
NATE
The Mustang'sengine hums beneath us as we drive through Eden's dark streets.
Nora's in the passenger seat, shoes off, feet up on the dashboard in a way that should annoy me but never does. The window's down, night air rushing past, tangling through her hair and cooling her flushed skin.
She looks loose and warm and reckless and more alive than I've seen her in years.
"When You Were Young"comes on the radio—The Killers, that opening guitar riff—and she turns it up without asking.
