ALEX.
It happened so suddenly that my body reacted before my mind could catch up.
One second, I was standing too close to him—too aware of his presence, the quiet weight of it—and the next, his arm came around me, firm and instinctive, the same way he’d done it a thousand times before. I froze as his chest pressed lightly against my back, his warmth seeping into places I had been trying very hard to keep guarded.
“Oh,” I breathed.
He didn’t tighten his hold, and didn’t loosen it either.
Instead, he murmured something under his breath—my name, I thought. Or maybe it was something softer, something meant only for him. His voice was low, rough at the edges, like he was fighting a battle I couldn’t see.
For a moment, just a split moment, I didn’t move.
I told myself it was because I was
