ARIA
The moment his fingers brushed my skin, there was no pretending left. I could lie when he stood behind me, when I didn’t have to meet his eyes. I could hold myself together when there was space between us. But the second he touched me, my body folded. I wanted to come apart. I wanted to stop fighting it.
He drew me back until I was locked against him, my back pressed hard to his chest, his heat everywhere.
“It won’t be fine while you’re still afraid of what your father might do,” he said quietly. “It won’t be fine until you can say what happened out loud. It won’t be fine until I can touch you without you bracing for it. You weren’t fine then. You’re not fine now. But you will be. I swear you will.”
“I’m not your mate, Kael,” I said, sharp and bitter. “I never will be. I’m just t
