Gideon’s POV

She kissed me like she already knew the map of my soul.

Her lips were soft and warm, still tinged with the taste of me, and yet she craved more. I could feel it in the way her hands gripped my shirt, in the low hum of her pulse as it quickened under my touch.

I didn’t speak. Words would’ve broken something sacred.

I laid her gently back against the pillows, brushing her hair from her face. She watched me—eyes wide, ...