Chapter 14: Surrender
399 Words
The fire painted shadows on his face.
Kael looked up at her, straddling him in the leather chair, and for once there was no guard, no wall, no cold distance. Just want. Raw and undisguised.
"You're sure?" he asked again. The same question he'd asked before. Like he needed to hear it.
Mila answered by kissing him.
His hands slid under her shirt, rough palms against bare skin, and she arched into his touch. He broke the kiss long enough to pull the fabric over her head, then his own followed, and then there was nothing between them but heat and the crackle of the fire.
He stood, lifting her easily, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the rug before the hearth, laying her down on the soft wool. The fire warmed her back. His body warmed her front.
"I don't do this," he murmured against her throat. "I don't—"
"Talk less."
He laughed. That same rough, surprised sound she'd heard before. Then his mouth found hers, and there were no more words.
He touched her like he was memorizing her. Like she was something precious and fragile and he was terrified of breaking her. But beneath the gentleness was something else. Something hungry. Something that had been caged too long.
"Kael." His name was a breath, a prayer, a command.
He answered.
The fire crackled. The storm raged outside. And Mila let go. Let go of fear, of doubt, of the past. For this moment, there was only him. Only his hands, his mouth, his body moving with hers. Only the sound of their breathing, ragged and desperate. Only the feeling of falling and being caught all at once.
When it ended, they lay tangled together on the rug, the fire dying to embers, her head on his chest, his heart hammering beneath her ear.
"I didn't know it could be like that," she whispered.
His arm tightened around her. "Neither did I."
She tilted her head to look at him. His eyes were closed, his face peaceful in a way she'd never seen. The scars were silver in the dying light. He looked younger. Less haunted.
"Kael."
"Mm?"
"I'm glad I ran through your door."
He opened his eyes. That frozen blue was warm now, thawed completely. He cupped her face, his thumb tracing her cheekbone.
"So am I."
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