Page 65 of Crusher's Illusion

Honor meets my gaze from the end of the hallway. His nod is short, heavy.You did what had to be done.

I follow Nevaeh to my room and close the door behind us.

She sits on the edge of the bed and finally lets her shoulders fall. Her fingers twist the hem of her shirt like she’s trying to ground herself in something real. I crouch in front of her, hands on her knees.

“You hurt anywhere?”

She shakes her head once, eyes bright but steady. “You?”

“Only in the places that matter.”

Her breath shakes, and before I can stop myself, I’m pulling her into me, burying my face in her neck. She goes soft against me. Her arms wrap around my shoulders, holding tight.

For a long time, we don’t move. No words. Just skin and breath and the kind of silence that feels like survival.

At some point, I feel her hand slide into my hair, gentle. “You did what you had to do, Erik.”

I nod against her shoulder because I know it’s true. Doesn’t mean it didn’t carve something out of me on the way through.Her breath catches. Not a sob. Not quite. But something breaks. I lift her chin so she’s forced to look at me.

“Hear me, Nevaeh,” I say, voice rough. “You’re safe. With me. Always.”

Her eyes fill, the first tears she’s let fall since the rail yard. She grabs the front of my shirt in both fists and pulls me into her like I’m the only thing keeping her tethered to the ground.

“I was so scared,” she breathes against my neck.

I bury one hand in her hair, holding her there. “Me too,” I admit. “More scared than I’ve ever been in my miserable life. I can’t…” my voice breaks, and I let it. “I can’t lose you, Nevaeh. I don’t think I could come back from it.”

She pulls back enough to look at me, eyes wide and wet. “Erik…”

“I don’t know what to call it yet,” I rasp, thumb brushing her cheek. “But I’m falling for you, fast. And there’s not a damn thing I can do to stop it.”

Her soft gasp is swallowed when I slam my mouth to hers, and she answers with everything that’s been sitting in her chest since the moment the Iron Cross dragged her into that van. The kiss is desperate, teeth and salt and heat.

We barely get out of our clothes before I walk her backwards into the bathroom and crowd her up against the tile. The shower comes on in a hiss of steam. She’s already dragging my belt loose when I lift her, her legs wrapping around my waist.

“Say it again,” she whispers against my throat.

“I’m falling for you.” My voice is broken glass and truth. “I’m fuckingyours, Nevaeh.”

She moans my name as I thrust into her, head falling back against the wall. Water and sweat slide over our skin. Her nails carve tracks down my shoulders, but I don’t stop, don’t ease up, not until her legs start to shake and her breath stutters againstmy ear. I come with her name on my lips and her body clutched tight against mine like I’m never letting her go again.

When her feet finally touch the floor, she’s trembling. I wrap her in a towel and carry her straight to bed. She pulls me down with her, like she’s afraid I’ll step away and she’ll wake up alone again.

We don’t sleep.

She rides me slowly in the dark, teeth biting her lower lip, trembling as I thrust up into her and hold her hips like she might disappear if I loosen my grip. She comes with a sharp cry that rips the air in two, and I follow right after, groaning her name like a prayer.

Finally, we can breathe, and her heart’s not hammering against my ribs anymore. I lay her on her side, pull her back firmly against my chest, and press a soft kiss to her shoulder.

“Sleep,” I order quietly. “I’ve got you.”

She does. Eventually.

I stay awake, watching her, one hand splayed across her stomach, just making damn sure she’s still here.

That’s how nighttime finds us. Tangled together. Breathing as one heartbeat.

A loud knock on the door has me bolting upright in bed.