The fire burned low, its glow painting the walls in shades of amber and shadow. The room smelled faintly of smoke and cedar, thick with the silence that pressed between us. I sat on the edge of the sofa, knees trembling under the weight of what I’d just agreed to—stay. Just for tonight. Two words that felt harmless, but nothing about them was harmless. Not here. Not with him.
I tucked my legs under me, curling against one end of the couch. The leather was cold beneath my bare feet. Across the room, Kieth adjusted in his chair, eyes lingering on me for a moment too long before he leaned back, the firelight catching sharp along his jawline. He didn’t speak. Neither did I.
For once, silence wasn’t a punishment. It wasn’t suspicion. It was something else—like we’d stumbled into a space where
