Zev’s words hung in the air, and Thalia’s mind raced, trying to process what he had just said. She wasn’t prepared for this—this vulnerability from him, the raw emotion she had never seen before. He had always been a storm, unpredictable and intense, but now, there was something else beneath the surface, something that made her chest tighten.
Her lips parted as if to say something, but no words came out. She didn’t know what to say, how to respond to the admission that he didn’t even know how to deal with what he was feeling. It was confusing, thrilling, and terrifying all at once.
Zev’s hands were still cradling her face, his touch sending waves of warmth through her. He didn’t move, waiting for her to react, his eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made her heart race. For the
