“Then don’t treat me like I am.”
Kai shifts behind us, restless energy coiling tighter. Sol remains still, but I can feel the weight of his attention.
For the first time, I don’t step back.
I lift my hand slowly, deliberately, and let my fingers brush lightly over her wrist.
Not claiming. Not testing. Just contact.
The effect is immediate.
The tension in her posture dissolves. The low hum beneath her scent steadies, deepening rather than flaring. She exhales softly, and the sound lands somewhere deeper in me than it should.
I don’t pull away.
“You don’t have to flare to be wanted,” I tell her quietly.
Her throat moves when she swallows.
“And I don’t have to calm down to feel safe,” she replies.
There’s a challenge in it.
Her pulse beats steadily beneath my fingertips. Not racing. Not sparking. Just present.
She doesn’t step back.
That’s when I realise this isn’t passive. She’schoosingto stand here.
My hand slides from her wrist to her palm, giving her time to pull away.
She doesn’t.
Her fingers curl into mine. Not tight. Not desperate.Intentional.
The room goes very quiet.
This isn’t fire. This isn’t gravity.
This is balance.
I lift my free hand to her jaw, slow enough that she can stop me at any point.
She doesn’t.
Her breath shifts.
My thumb brushes lightly along the line of her cheek.
“Tell me to stop,” I murmur.
She doesn’t speak.
Instead, she leans in.
That’s all the permission I need.
The kiss is soft. Deliberate. No claiming. No dominance. No heat spike.