Birds sang melodies from within the woods. Wolves howled, a pack responding to their leader. Stars shone brightly, lanterns in the sky providing witness to this stolen moment.
Every second was somehow the longest and shortest moment of his life.
Still, neither of them moved.
He should let go. He should walk away and give himself a stern talking-to. He should, but he couldn’t.
Somehow, Ryker knew that if he stepped away now, he might never get to touch her again. And damn it all, but he refused to allow that to happen.
Instead, his fingers curled around hers.
Not too tightly—they both knew she could break his hold in a heartbeat if she wanted to—and his gaze crawled up to hers.
Ryker slowly swept his thumb over her moonlit hand until he got to Brynleigh’s fourth finger.
“Why did you keep the ring?”
It felt like their wedding had been years ago, not a mere month.How was it possible that so much had happened over such a short period of time?
Her obsidian orbs shimmered with an emotion Ryker wasn’t ready to unpack.
“You gave it to me. Even when I thought you were dead…” A choked sob slipped out of Brynleigh, and she shuddered. “I kept it.”
Ryker swallowed. It meant something that she was still wearing his ring, just as it meant something that she wasn’t pulling away from him. His thumb traced the cool metal, turning it around her finger slowly. He’d spent hours mulling over engagement ring options until he found the perfect one.
Back when he thought she loved him.
Back when they were whole.
Back when he had no idea who she truly was.
So much had happened between them, and yet…
Ryker didn’t know if they could fix this. The only thing he knew for certain was that being with Brynleigh felt right in a way that nothing else ever had. It was like they were two parts of the same whole, always meant to be together.
Everything else faded away. He didn’t notice either of them moving, but eventually, barely a foot of space existed between them.
The air was so thick that he could hardly breathe. His magic pulsed, his heart thundered, and everything within him urged him to close the distance between them.
Nothing else mattered at that moment. Not the dead Earth Elf, not Brynleigh’s betrayal, not his anger over her murderous plans.
It was just them and the feeling of rightness deep in his soul.
He breathed her name, and he tightened his grip on her fingers.
Just one kiss.
That’s all he wanted. A taste, a reminder of what they had, and then they could go back to figuringeverything else out.
Ryker bent his head, his breath dancing over her mouth as he drew closer. He moved slowly, giving her time to pull away, but she didn’t. His heart boomed, and he felt like a youngling going in for his first kiss.
Wide-eyed, Brynleigh gripped his fingers. Something dangerously akin to hope shone within her eyes.
She breathed, “Ryker?—”
A shrill ring sliced through the silence like a bolt of lightning cutting through a stormy night. Ryker’s phone vibrated in his back pocket.
“Fuck,” he exhaled, his heart sinking like a stone.