James

For a long moment, we just sit there. Her hand still in mine. Her head bowed slightly, like she’s suddenly embarrassed… probably because I can’t tear my eyes off her. 

She squeezes my hand once, then exhales shakily. “I’m sorry again. For all of this.”

I look at her sharply. “Annelly—”

“I know what you’re gonna say,” she cuts in quickly. “But just… let me. I need to get this out.”

When she pulls her hand away and stands, turning from me, I let her go—even though I hate it. She crosses to the far side of the room, arms folded tightly across her chest, like she’s trying to hold herself together long enough to find the words.

“I know I’m not personally responsible for his actions,” she says quietly. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you and Tyler had peace here. Safety. A home. And now all of that’s gone because of me.”

My heart lurches.

“My choices… I’m the one who brought this danger to your doorstep. In just two weeks of being here, I’ve upended your life. Everything you built. Everything you worked so hard to protect.” Her voice cracks, and when she turns to face me, the pain in her eyes does me in. 

I’m on my feet before I even realize I’ve moved.

“Don’t,” I say, low and sharp.

She flinches slightly—not from fear, but like she’s bracing for an argument. But this isn’t an argument. For me, it’s a line in the sand.

I take a step closer. 

Then another.

“Don’t you ever say that again.”

Her lips part like she wants to push back, but I shake my head once.

“No. You didn’t ruin anything. This is not on you. It never was. You didn’t bring danger into our lives, Annelly. He did. Victor.”

She blinks hard, tears rising, and I close the distance between us, gently uncrossing her arms and taking both of her hands in mine.

“Having you here…” My voice catches, just for a second. “I won’t lie. There’s no point, since you’ve had a front row seat to what a mess I’ve been.” I smile—small, self-deprecating—trying to take the edge off what I’m about to say. “It’s been hard. I can admit that. But not for the reasons you think.”

I stop to take a breath. Deep. Steadying.

“Your presence here, in my home… gave me a glimpse of something good. A taste of a life I never imagined was possible. Not for a guy like me.”

I squeeze her hands gently. 

“You wrecked me, Annelly. Ruined me. Pushed me out of my comfort zone with the force of a nuclear blast. But even amidst the fallout, the devastation of realizing I might not be okay living the way I have… you gave me something else.”

I lift one of her hands and press her palm to my chest, right over the part of me that only seems to beat steady when she’s near.

“You gave me hope. You gave me something to fight for. Something more than just surviving.”

Her hand is warm against me, her touch soothing and electric all at once.

“You gave me a reason to stop running. From you. From myself. From the trauma I buried so deep, I forgot how much it still hurts. All the shit I’ve been too afraid to face.”   

I lean in, holding her gaze.

“You didn’t take my peace, Annelly,” I whisper. “You are my peace.”

Her breath catches. I feel the tremble in her fingers, but she doesn’t pull away.

“That fact scares the shit out of me,” I admit quietly. “But it doesn’t make it any less true. You and Tyler… You’re everything to me. Everything. And I’d burn the whole damn world to the ground before I let anyone hurt you or him ever again.”

She doesn’t speak. She just looks at me—eyes shining, lips parted like she’s holding her breath. And with the way my chest’s burning, I must be, too.

My fingers stay wrapped around hers, our hands caught between us like some fragile thread I’m terrified of pulling too hard on.

I swallow. 

“There’s something else. About earlier.”

Her brows draw together slightly, but her gaze remains locked on me.

“When I kissed you…” I pause, breath catching on the memory. “I was drowning, Annelly. And you—you were the only thing keeping me afloat.”

Her lips part just slightly, but she stays still. Listening.

“I’m sorry if it was too much. If I crossed a line. I was spiraling and I—” I stop myself. Shake my head. “No. I don’t regret it. I could never regret touching you like that.”

A breath shudders out of me as I reach up, brushing a strand of hair from her face. My fingers tremble, like my body remembers, and is afraid I may never get to touch her again.

“But I want to do it differently this time. Not because I need saving. Not because I’m falling apart. Just… because you deserve better than that. For our first kiss. We both do. And because I want you.” 

My voice drops, low and rough with everything I’ve been holding back. “So… will you let me? Kiss you?”

She doesn’t answer right away. Just stares up at me—eyes wide, searching—like she’s looking for cracks. Any signs that what I’m asking for might not be real. That I’m still on the edge, still one breath away from bolting. But then—

She nods.

Slow. Barely there. 

But definite.

Then comes the softest breath of an “Okay.”

That’s all the permission I need.

Desperate to taste her, I lean in, slow and reverent. One hand still holding hers, the other rising to her cheek with aching tenderness, like I’m afraid one wrong move might make her vanish.

And when I kiss her this time… 

It’s not frantic. 

It’s not desperate. 

It’s worship. 

Her lips part beneath mine, soft and welcoming, and I sink into her like I’ve been waiting a lifetime for this exact moment.

Because I have.

Because I never thought I’d let myself want this, let alone have it.

And now that I do… I can’t get close enough.

 The way she sighs when I deepen the kiss, quiet and wrecked, like she’s been holding it in for too long. The way her fingers fist into my shirt, pulling me closer like she needs this as much as I do. The way she leans into me, trusting me to hold her up, to catch her if she falls.

And Christ, I will.

I’ll catch her a thousand times if it means I get to keep her like this. 

My hand slips to the back of her neck, my grip tightening—not to take, but to anchor. To feel. Her mouth opens wider under mine, and I swear I nearly lose it. 

I kiss her like she’s air. 

Like she’s salvation. 

Like she’s mine. 

Every soft gasp, every trembling breath, every breathy whimper—I take it all in like a man starved. And when I finally ease back, it’s not because I want to. It’s because I have to. Because I need to see her. To see her eyes when she’s like this—flushed, breathing hard, lips kiss-swollen and parted. Gaze wide, needy, and wrecked in the most beautiful way. 

She’s so fucking stunning. 

Kissing her. Touching her. It’s exactly how I imagined it would be. Only better. Because it’s real. And I didn’t know what it would feel like to have this. To have her. But now that I do, I know I’ll never be the same. 

I rest my forehead against hers, my breath still ragged. “You okay?” 

She nods, voice barely a whisper. “Yeah.”

I press a kiss to her forehead, then pull her fully into my arms, holding her like she’s the only thing tethering me to the ground.

“We leave tonight,” I murmur against her hair. “So we’ve got a few hours. I’ll order a pizza to soften Tyler up a bit. Then once he’s home, we’ll sit down, eat… and I’ll tell him the plan.”

“He’s going to hate this.”

Unable to help it, I let out a tired sigh. She’s right. He might, but maybe not for the reasons she thinks. Our home—this space I’ve worked my ass off to make safe and secure—it means more to me that it does to him. To Tyler, I’m all the security he’s ever needed. I always have been. Something I’m only just beginning to understand.  

“He cares about you, Annelly. He’ll want you to be safe.”

She nods again, but this time, I feel it. The slow exhale of tension as her body softens against mine. 

I tighten my hold on her, anchoring us both.

“I’ve got you, snowflake,” I whisper. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

I hold her for a beat longer. Then I pull back just enough to meet her eyes. 

“To be clear, that kiss wasn’t a moment of weakness. It wasn’t a mistake. It was real, Annelly. You are real to me. And I want to be real to you.”

Her lips part like she’s about to speak, but I’m not done.

“I know I’ve messed up. I’ve hurt you. Shut you out when I should’ve let you in. But I’m trying. I swear to God, I’m trying.”

I reach up, brushing my thumb gently along her cheek.

“For you… I’ll learn. I’ll fight. I’ll become whoever the hell I need to be to deserve you. All I’m asking for is a chance.”

Her eyes shine again, but this time, it’s not pain I see. It’s hope. Maybe even relief. Something warm enough to burn straight through the cold I’ve carried for too damn long.

She exhales. A soft breath that feels like a yes without her needing to speak. And then, before I can brace for it, she rises on her toes and kisses me. 

It’s not like before. It’s not heat. Not desperation. 

It’s soft. Sweet. Certain.

A kiss like no other I’ve ever had.

An okay like no other I’ve ever heard.

From a girl like no other I’ve ever met.

And just like that, I know—I was always meant to be hers.

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