The chill deepened.
Not just the air but the stillness.
The kind that settles before something breaks.
The surroundings were too quiet.
No birdsong. No rustling leaves. Just the crunch of dead foliage beneath their boots and the occasional, sleepy bleat of the kid cradled in Ivy’s arms.He had wrapped Ivy with his jacket. So it sort of helped with the chill.
Axel’s hand stayed firm on the small of her back, guiding her forward.
She did not pull away.
And he did not let go.
The silence between them was not empty. It was thick. Charged. Every brush of his fingers against her spine sent a shiver up her neck. Every time his arm flexed to steer her around a protruding branch, stone or root, she caught the scent of him…wilder.
She risked a glance at him.
His jaw was set, ey
