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“How’d they die?” I ask, realizing it’s insensitive when she winces and looks down as if burned.

“You don’t have to tell me, Sera.”

She nods. “Thank you, because I don’t like to talk about it.”

Even though my curiosity is piqued, I reach for her. “And you don’t have to.”

“There was a tragic accident. I don’t like to think about it.” She hangs her head. “My situation with my uncle wasn’t entirely their fault. They didn’t do it on purpose, but I can’t help but resent them sometimes. That’s awful, I know.”

“It’s not awful. Everyone processes things differently. And you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I meant it. Lord knows there’s tons of shit buried here at Ironwood; what’s one more secret?” I tease.

She lifts her gaze back to me as a soft smile tugs at her lips.

The house groans when the wind outside picks up. It’s only going to get worse as winter settles in, and I can tell Seraphine doesn’t like the way the house breathes.

She sits straighter, gazing toward the windows with concern.

“It’s alright. It’s just the wind.”

“I know. It’s just… Never mind.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You can talk to me, Sera. About anything.”

“It would be unprofessional.”

There it is again. The uncomfortable realization that I’m no more than her boss, her superior in this new chapter in her life.

“And the elevator?”

She smiles, and a hint of amusement curls at the corners of her mouth. “You like to bring things back to the elevator.”

“I do. It was a pivotal moment.”

She barks a laugh. “A pivotal moment?”

“In our relationship,” I add, more forward than I’ve ever been. Elias likes to joke that I’m the shyest of the three of us, and he’s not wrong. Something about Sera, however, has me feeling… bold, like the deepest shade of red, glistening brightly.

“I’m afraid that I didn’t know who you were then,” she starts, and I give her an incredulous look to signal my disbelief.

“I told you, I make bad decisions when it comes to my body. I’ve always been… precarious. I’m trying to do better in that aspect here in Crimson Falls. I’m trying to be better.”

Crawling nearer, I tilt her chin to look into her brown eyes. “I don’t think you could get any better. At least, I hope not. For my sanity.”

“You’re just saying that… I⁠—”

I shake my head, culling her words. “I don’t just say anything. I say what I mean. There’s something about you, Sera… Something that has me feeling alive, when before you stepped foot in Crimson Falls, I was dead, wasting, a specter amongst the masses. Walking through life but not truly living.”

“That’s beautiful, but I don’t want to sully the working relationship we have,” she breathes when I lean closer, testing the limits, testing the boundaries she’s clearly set, when I know I shouldn’t.

“I’ll fire you,” I whisper against her lips.

“I need this job…” I swallow her following words, along with the moan that accompanies them when our mouths collide in a heated frenzy.

Gone is her self-preservation, and her small hands explore my arms, squeezing as I lavish her, as she dances in the sunlight she’s brought to our dank estate.