CHAPTER 42— In His Arms, Awake
636 Words
Warmth.
Soft sheets.
A deep, steady heartbeat beneath her ear.
For a moment, Kaela didn’t understand where she was — if she was safe, or still trapped in that nightmare with Adrian hovering over her. Her breath caught, panic flaring in her veins.
Then she heard him.
“Kaela…”
His voice — low, rough, and cracking with something he almost never let anyone hear.
Fear.
She blinked, the room coming into focus. The familiar dark walls. The scent of sandalwood and crisp linen. A strong arm wrapped around her waist protectively, like he feared she would disappear.
Vionn’s bed.
Vionn.
Her husband.
Her shelter.
Her storm.
She shifted slightly, and immediately his hold tightened — hard, desperate.
His eyes opened, sharp and burning as they scanned her face. Relief hit him so powerfully his shoulders sagged.
“Thank God…” He breathed the words like a prayer.
Kaela realized something else then — she was in his bare arms, dressed only in the soft oversized shirt he must have put on her. Her skin tingled everywhere they touched.
She swallowed. “Vionn… what happened?”
His jaw clenched, the memory clearly a blade he didn’t want to revisit. He brushed his thumb lightly over her cheek.
“You scared me,” he whispered.
Those three words carried more weight than an entire confession.
Kaela’s heart twisted. She placed her trembling hand over his.
“I’m okay, Vionn.”
“You’re not.” His voice was rough. “Not yet.”
He shifted, sitting up against the headboard so he could pull her closer into his lap. Her head rested against his chest again as he exhaled, grounding himself with the feeling of her in his arms.
He lowered his head, his lips brushing the top of her hair.
“I almost lost you,” he said. “I’ve already lost one woman to that man… I will not lose another.”
She froze — Adriana.
The ghost between them.
She looked up slowly, her hazel eyes meeting his ice-blue ones.
“You saved me,” she whispered.
His gaze locked onto hers — raw, burning, unguarded for the first time.
“I will always save you,” he said simply.
Her pulse stumbled.
“Why?” she breathed.
Silence.
A question he had been running from. Fighting. Destroying himself over.
His hand cupped her jaw, fingertips trembling slightly.
“Because you’re my wife,” he said first — too quick, too rehearsed.
Her eyes softened.
“And?” she pushed gently.
His throat worked. He leaned down, their noses almost touching.
“And the thought of you not breathing…” His voice dropped to a broken whisper. “…unmakes me.”
Her breath caught.
The air between them thickened — a silent pull, magnetic and dangerous.
Kaela lifted a hand to his cheek. He leaned into her touch like a man starved of tenderness.
“Vionn…”
He stared at her — truly stared — like she was the only thing in existence. His forehead pressed to hers, and she felt his breath tremble.
“If anything ever happens to you…”
His lips brushed hers — not kissing, just hovering agonizingly close.
“…I won’t survive it.”
Her heart slammed in her chest.
Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him — not with fear, not with reluctance…
But with belief.
Trust.
His hand slid to her waist, gripping her gently but firmly, afraid she might slip away.
For a long moment, they stayed like that — breathing the same fragile air — two hearts finally beating in the same rhythm.
Kaela whispered into the warmth of his neck:
“I’m here, Vionn.”
And for the first time…
He let out a breath that sounded like pure relief.
- Writer
