The forest was unnaturally quiet.
Instead of being the quiet of peace, it was the quiet of something waiting.
Lyra's silk nightgown hem brushed her ankles as she stood barefoot on the mossy floor. Her skin was streaked with silver as the moonlight filtered through the canopy overhead.
She didn't know what drew her out here.
Just that last night, Kael had not returned.
And that bothered her more than it should have.
"You're not scared of the dark?" His voice came from behind.
She didn't flinch. "Not anymore."
Kael stepped into view, shirt half-unbuttoned, the shadows clinging to his frame like they belonged there. He looked like sin personified—barefoot, hair wild, jaw shadowed.
Gods.
He always looked like trouble.
But tonight?
He looked like hers.
"You ran," she said quietly.
"I needed air."
"And you couldn't take it beside me?"
His gaze dropped to her mouth. "That's the problem. Around you, I forget how to breathe."
Silence settled between them.
Tight.
Tangled.
Lyra turned away. "You don't have to say things like that."
"But I want to."
"Why?"
"Because the way you look at me… it undoes me, Lyra."
She spun back to him. "And what about the way you look at me? Like I'm the answer to a question you never wanted to ask?"
Kael moved closer.
One step.
Then another.
Until his hand found her hip, pulling her to him, forehead resting against hers.
"You are the question," he whispered. "And I hate how badly I want the answer."
Lyra's heart thundered in her chest.
She wanted to run her hands over every inch of him, memorize every scar, and learn the weight of every secret he refused to say out loud.
But she didn't.
Instead, she whispered, "Do you want me, Kael?"
His grip tightened.
His breath hitched.
And then, in a voice rough with restraint, he said, "You have no idea how much."
"Then take me."
"I will," he murmured, lips brushing her ear. "But not like this."
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I want you when you're shaking," he said, his fingers trailing up her spine. "When you're begging. When your thoughts are solely focused on mine, you forget your own name.
Lyra swallowed hard.
"You think you're that unforgettable?"
Kael smiled darkly.
"I think you already forgot how to stop craving me."
She hated how right he was.
Because she was already falling.
And she wasn't sure there'd be anything left to catch her.