CLAUDE
Silence stretched between us.
I didn't know what to say. My mind couldn't catch up to reality, couldn't process that he was here. That I wasn't dreaming.
His voice shattered the quiet. "Are you just going to stand there and look at me?"
That snapped the last thread of my restraint.
"Nikolai." His name tore from my throat, almost a breathless cry, and I moved—or maybe he did—but it didn't matter.
One second, there was space between us. The next, we were colliding.
"Christ," he muttered, his arms locking around me so tight it sent us stumbling backward, the door slamming shut behind him.
I pulled back just enough to see his face. Still him. Here. Real. My chest ached from the force of my heartbeat. "How did you—how are—" The words came out broken, scrambled.
