Chapter 232

He kisses me back.

For a second, maybe two, his mouth moves against mine, warm and careful, one hand coming up to rest lightly against the side of my jaw like he’s not entirely sure he’s allowed to be doing this and wants to leave himself room to stop. It’s gentle in a way that catches me off guard, nothing urgent in it, nothing demanding, just quiet and searching and entirely unlike anything I braced myself for when I leaned in.

Then he pulls back first.

Not fast. Not like he’s fleeing the moment. He draws away slowly, his hand still lingering near my jaw for a second longer before he lets it drop, and when I open my eyes properly he’s watching me with an expression I can’t fully place. Not hurt exactly. Something quieter than that. Something that looks almost like a man confirming a thing he’d already worked out the answer to and was simply waiting to hear it said out loud.

“I already knew,” he says, soft, no edge to it at all. “What you were going to fe