The question threaded through her like heat. It made every rule they had just spoken feel like scaffolding instead of a cage. She nodded.
He didn’t rush. He tipped his head, his hand a warm weight at the side of her neck, and kissed her like the word hello meant something in his mouth. No hurry. No pressure that asked for anything more than the yes she had already given. It was somehow worse and better than last night’s hunger. Worse because it unraveled her patience. Better because it told her he knew exactly what he was doing.
When he drew back, they kept close. She could count his breaths. He watched her like a man memorizing a map.
“You have a day to get to,” he said, his voice still low. “And I have a morning that refuses to move without me.”
“You came anyway.”
“I was already on
