The heat between us
932 Words
It’s quiet again, but it’s a different kind of quiet.
The kind that hums with something too electric to ignore.
Kael’s still there. Beside me. In my space. His body an immovable presence at my side, his warmth leaking into the coldness I’ve lived with for years. But there’s something different now. A shift. A heat that wasn’t there before.
I can feel it in the way he breathes. In the way his fingers twitch at his sides, like he wants to touch me but doesn’t know if I’ll let him. His scent—pine and danger and something darker—wraps around me like a tether I can’t break.
I roll over, facing him. His eyes are closed, but I know he’s aware of me. Of every inch of me. He’s waiting for something.
Waiting for me to give him a sign.
“You’re not sleeping,” I whisper, voice raspy from the silence.
Kael opens one eye, just a sliver, his gaze heavy. “I’m not the one who needs to sleep.”
His voice is a caress, deep and raw, like he’s holding back the wildness inside him with nothing but sheer force.
I swallow hard, heart drumming in my chest. There’s something about the way he looks at me—something that makes me want to melt into him, give him everything. But I can’t. Not yet. Not after everything.
“Why do you stay?” I ask, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “You know what’s happened to me. Why aren’t you running?”
He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, his hand moves, just barely brushing against mine. The touch is light—almost teasing. But it sends a jolt straight through me. The air around us thickens.
“I’m not running from you,” Kael says, voice tight with something dangerous. “I’m not running from what you are, Ivy.”
I try to pull my hand away. Just a little. But he catches it before I can go too far, his fingers locking around mine with a firm grip, not rough, but unyielding.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Kael asks, his voice low. “The pull. The way your body reacts to mine.”
My breath hitches, my heart skipping a beat. The pull is real. And it terrifies me.
“I don’t—” My words die in my throat as he moves closer. The space between us shrinks with each passing second, until his lips hover just above mine. I can feel his breath, hot against my skin.
“Don’t lie to me,” Kael murmurs, his voice dark with desire. “You want this. You want me.”
It’s not a question. It’s a statement. One that cuts through me like a blade.
And god, I do want it. I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. But fear holds me back. Fear of being torn apart, of losing control. Of not knowing what happens when I let someone in this way.
He leans in, his lips brushing against my ear. “I’ll take it slow, Ivy. But you’re not getting away from me. Not anymore.”
I shudder, a rush of heat flooding my veins.
His hand moves to my jaw, tilting my head up just enough for him to see every inch of me. His thumb traces the curve of my lip, sending a tremor through me.
“I can wait for you,” Kael whispers. “But you have to stop pushing me away.”
I know I’m not ready. But he doesn’t give me a choice. Kael’s lips brush mine, just once. A soft, teasing kiss that leaves me gasping for more.
He pulls away before I can respond. Just enough to leave me aching for him.
“Tell me you want this,” Kael demands, his voice rough, like he’s struggling to keep control. “Tell me you want me.”
I close my eyes, fighting the storm inside me. My heart races, blood rushing through my body like wildfire.
“I want you,” I whisper, my voice barely audible, but the words are there. And once they’re out, I can’t take them back.
Kael smiles, but it’s a slow, predatory grin. “Then we don’t wait any longer.”
His lips crash against mine, this time with no hesitation. No restraint.
He kisses me like it’s the only thing that matters, like he’s starving and I’m his only source of life.
And I kiss him back.
Every part of me is on fire, burning with need I didn’t know I could feel. His hands slip into my hair, tugging me closer, as if there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. And I don’t want to be anywhere else, either.
Kael’s lips trail down my neck, hot and insistent. His teeth graze my skin, making me gasp, and my body arches toward him, every nerve alive with a hunger I can’t deny.
“You feel that?” he breathes against my skin. “You feel how much I want you?”
“Yes,” I gasp, my hands gripping his shoulders as if I could anchor myself in this moment. “I feel it.”
“Good,” Kael growls, pulling me closer, as if we were made to fit together like this. “Because I won’t stop until you’re mine.”
His words spark something deep inside me—something dark, something dangerous.
But it doesn’t matter anymore.
Because right now, all I want is him.
- Writer
