Page 147 of Scarlet Wars
Caden nodded once. “I know.”
I hesitated for a second, before forcing out what burned all the way up. “You are not.”
A beat. “I know.”
I swallowed, pulse kicking hard against my throat, the air between us suddenly too heavy to breathe. “You’re more.”
His eyes flicked to mine, steady, unflinching, and impossibly sure. “I know.”
The words scraped out of me, barely a breath. “And that scares the hell out of me.”
Something in his face cracked open at that, as if the armor he’d been wearing finally gave way. His hand came up, fingers trailing along my jaw before brushing my cheek. Gentle, reverent, undoing me with one touch.
“I know,” he said again, quieter this time.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he shifted and reached for my backpack. He set it down beside him, lay back on it, and without a word, slid his arm out in silent invitation.
I didn’t even think. My body justknew.I slipped beside him, fitting against his side like I’d been meant to all along. His body was solid, radiating warmth that soaked straight into my bones, grounding me in a way nothing else ever could.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his chest, my breath ghosting over his skin.
He stilled, his hand finding the small of my back. When he spoke, his voice rumbled low beneath my ear, steady and rough. “For what?”
I tilted my head until our eyes met. “For all of it. For being a coward, mostly. For being angry at you about Coastal. Lying to me wasn’t your best moment,” I admitted, “but the rage I’ve been holding onto…” My throat tightened. “It’s mainly about Sean, about him keeping this from me even though you ordered him to. Being angry at you just…made it easier to keep my distance.”
He brushed a loose strand of hair from my forehead with a tenderness that made me shiver. His touch lingered, warm against the cold.
“I’m sorry too,” he said, his tone threaded with genuine regret. “I should’ve come clean a long time ago. Sean asked me again and again if he could tell you, and I shut him down every time. I didn’t want to risk you feeling betrayed by one more person you trusted. But in doing so, I gave you two whodid.”
My chest ached. “You wanted me to have him. You wanted me to have a person I could count on.”
Caden nodded, his eyes glinting with a sadness I’d never seen there before.
I couldn’t look away. “You were looking out for me,” I said, the realization catching on my breath.
He nodded once. “Always.”
The word hit deep, too deep. It wasn’t a promise, it was a confession.
The silence that followed pulsed with something alive. His breath mingled with mine, slow and uneven. Everything between us felt weighted, charged, like if I moved even a fraction, the entire world might tilt.
I could feel the heat radiating off him, the steady thrum of his pulse where his wrist brushed my arm. My body betrayed me, leaning in without permission.
Gods, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted it so badly it physicallyhurtnot to.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and in it I saw the same ache I felt reflected right back at me. His jaw flexed once, a muscle ticking as though he was fighting himself.
Then, with agonizing slowness, his thumb ghosted along the curve of my bottom lip, feather-light.
My pulse stuttered, and his eyes darkened as he whispered, low and unsteady, “The first time I ever tasted your lips, was to breathe life back into you.”
His breath brushed my skin, his pupils blown wide, and burning. “All it did was restart my own fucking heart.”
My pulse went wild, pounding so hard it felt like it might tear straight out of my chest. “I don’t even remember that,” I whispered, the moment trembling between us.
Something dangerous sparked in his eyes, right before his hand slid deep into my hair, locking at the nape of my neck as he tilted my head back, firm, possessive, leaving me with nowhere to move.
