Page 309 of Trick or Stalk

The walls around him crumble.

His eyes close. His forehead drops toward mine but stops before touching.

“Yes,” I whisper.

Only then does he press his forehead against mine.

His exhale shudders between us.

I close my eyes.

For a few seconds, neither of us moves.

I let myself feel him. All of him.

Loving him doesn't mean pretending the things he did to me were okay. It means I know the truth. And I know what I'm choosing.

I pull back enough to look at him. “This doesn't mean everything is fixed.”

“I know.”

“You have work to do.”

“Okay.”

“Trust doesn't magically come back because you had a horrible childhood.”

“You’re right.”

“I really need you to stop agreeing with everything.”

“No.”

I blink. Then laugh. “There he is.”

His mouth finally curves.

And fuck, I've missed that too.

I reach up and touch his face. Hades leans into my palm.

My heart aches. “You know what the weirdest part is?”

“There are a lot of options.”

“The Masked Man isn't actually the problem.”

His expression changes. “No?”

“No.”

Something dangerous wakes behind his eyes.

Oh, for fuck's sake. “Control yourself.”

“I am.”

“Barely.”