Stay behind me
1072 Words
The night air was thick with tension. The weight of her father’s return, the looming threat of Black Hollow, and the sheer insanity of their new reality pressed down on Amelia like an iron fist.
She needed to breathe.
Needed to escape.
She slipped outside, the cold air biting at her skin. The lake stretched out before her, dark and endless. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the reflection of the moon dancing on the restless water.
She didn’t hear him approach, but she felt it—the shift in the air, the warmth at her back.
Dominic.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone.” He murmured.
Amelia exhaled, her breath curling in the cold night air. “And what, I should be inside, strategizing my survival with the father I thought was dead?”
Dominic didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him. Close enough that she could smell him—woodsmoke, leather, something undeniably him.
“You’re angry.” He finally said.
She let out a sharp breath, a humorless laugh. “Angry doesn’t even cover it.”
Dominic shifted, stepping in front of her. The porch light cast shadows across his face, but his eyes—those dark, steady eyes—held her captive. “Then what?”
Amelia hesitated. “I feel like I’m coming apart.”
The admission burned her throat. She hated feeling weak. Hated feeling helpless.
Dominic reached out, his fingers brushing her wrist. Just the slightest touch.
It sent a shiver through her.
“You’re not,” He said quietly. “You’re stronger than you think.”
Her breath hitched. He always did this—made her feel seen in ways she wasn’t sure she could handle.
Her pulse hammered in her ears.
Get it together, Amelia.
But she didn’t want to get it together.
She wanted a distraction.
She wanted him.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she reached up, fisting the fabric of his jacket. “Tell me something, Dominic.”
He stilled. “Anything.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “How do you make it stop?”
His jaw clenched. “Make what stop?”
“The fear. The chaos.”
He exhaled, slow and measured. “You don’t. You just find something worth holding onto.”
Her fingers curled tighter into his jacket. “And what if I don’t have anything to hold onto?”
Dominic’s hand slid up her arm, his touch warm against her chilled skin. He was so close now, his breath ghosting against her cheek. His voice was rough, low. “Then you hold onto me.”
The words sent something wild spiraling through her.
And then—
She kissed him.
Or maybe he kissed her.
It didn’t matter.
The second their lips met, the tension that had been coiling inside her snapped, unraveling into something hot and electric. Dominic didn’t hesitate. He pressed into her, his hands finding her waist, pulling her against him. The warmth of his body melted into hers, and for the first time all night, she felt something other than fear.
She felt alive.
Her fingers slid into his hair, tugging just enough to draw a low sound from his throat. The rough scrape of his stubble against her skin sent shivers racing down her spine.
God, she had missed this. The way he kissed like he was claiming her, the way he touched her like she was something fragile and precious and his.
She wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly, her back was pressed against the porch railing, his body caging hers in.
“You should stop me.” Dominic murmured against her lips, his hands sliding down her sides, gripping her hips.
She gasped as he pressed her against the wood, the solid weight of him igniting something deep in her core. “Do you want me to?”
His answer was a growl, his lips crashing back onto hers.
She barely had time to think, barely had time to breathe.
There was only him.
His hands tracing fire along her skin.
His body pressed against hers, solid, unyielding.
His mouth—hot, demanding—sending her pulse into a dizzying freefall.
And just when she thought she might completely lose herself in him—
The sound of tires crunching against gravel shattered the moment.
Dominic stiffened, his body tensing.
Amelia’s stomach dropped.
They weren’t expecting anyone.
He pulled away, his expression dark, his hand already reaching for the gun tucked beneath his jacket.
Amelia’s heart pounded as she turned toward the road, watching as the headlights of an unfamiliar black SUV cut through the night.
Dominic’s voice was deadly quiet. “Stay behind me.”
The heat of the moment was gone, replaced with something cold, sharp—dangerous.
Because whoever had just arrived?
They weren’t here for a friendly visit.
And Amelia had a sick feeling in her gut.
Black Hollow had just found them.
The black SUV rolled to a stop at the end of the driveway. The headlights cut through the darkness like knives, illuminating the front porch where Amelia and Dominic stood, their breath visible in the cold night air.
Dominic didn’t move. His body was coiled tight, every muscle primed for a fight. His fingers twitched near his gun, but he didn’t draw it. Not yet.
Amelia’s heart pounded in her chest.
“Who is it?” She whispered.
Dominic’s jaw clenched. “We’re about to find out.”
The driver’s side door opened first. A man stepped out, tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in dark tactical gear. He moved with the kind of controlled precision that made Amelia’s stomach twist.
Professional. Trained.
Two more men emerged from the back, their movements just as calculated. No one spoke. No one called out.
And that was what scared her the most.
Because people who came in peace didn’t move like that.
Dominic shifted, subtly angling himself in front of her. His voice was low, steady. “Go inside.”
Amelia bristled. “I’m not leaving you out here alone.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Amelia—”
The front passenger door opened.
And everything inside her froze.
Because she knew the man who stepped out.
Dark hair, clean-cut. Sharp cheekbones. A cold, calculating gaze that hadn’t changed in five years.
Her stomach dropped.
- Writer
