“Then stop giving me reasons to,” I said, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.
He didn’t reply. His eyes dimmed at me, searching my face for more words. None were coming but the weight of his eyes made me dizzy. Now, I wasn’t just fuzzy from the wine, but from memory. From the pieces of a past neither of us could bury.
I turned to leave, but the ground tilted under my feet. The wine caught up all at once, and the world spun.
“Adeline…”
Before I could hit the ground, his arm was around me. His hand pressed firm against my back, keeping me steady as if the years hadn’t happened at all.
“Careful,” he muttered.
“Let go,” I whispered, but he didn’t. His grip only tightened around me. I could feel all of him, his scent, clean and wild, filling my head.
“I said, let go.”
His voice drop
