Free Web NovelChapter 74: Should I Come To You?
Nina went completely still.
For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She lay frozen beneath the blanket, staring into the darkness, unable to believe what was happening. Behind her, Rodrigo exhaled slowly. Then she felt him draw another breath, as though he was breathing her in.
Her fingers curled against the sheets.
The warmth of him lingered at her back. Gradually, his breathing steadied, matching the quiet rhythm of the room.
Had he fallen asleep?
The thought had barely formed when he moved.
In one smooth motion, he turned her onto her back.
Nina’s eyes flew open.
His face hovered above hers.
Moonlight spilled through the window, catching the sharp lines of his features. His grey eyes held hers, bright and intense, as if he were seeing her for the first time.
Neither of them spoke.
His hand rose slowly. The backs of his fingers brushed her cheek, tucking away the strands of hair that had fallen across her face.
Then he closed his eyes.
A strained breath left him.
As though he were trying to gather himself. When he looked at her again, something vulnerable seemed to flicker beneath the intensity.
"...What do I do?"
The words came out rough, his gaze softening as he held hers.
Nina’s heart stumbled. She stayed still, afraid that if she moved, the moment would shatter. His eyes dropped slowly to her mouth.
And stayed there.
The silence stretched.
Nina could hear nothing but the frantic beat of her own heart.
Slowly, carefully, Rodrigo leaned closer.
Every inch disappeared with agonizing slowness.
Then his lips touched hers. freewebnøvel.coɱ
She shivered, her eyes fluttering close.
The kiss was soft, barely there, and yet, she felt her body loosen under him, yielding to him.
He lingered for a moment before pulling back.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and they met him. She looked away shyly, her lower lip going in between her teeth. She could still feel his eyes on her, her heart beating wildly now. Then she felt him lean in to her, burying his head in the nape of her neck, and he breathed in again.
As though he needed it.
When he lifted his head again, the restraint she’d always seen in him looked dangerously thin.
"Should I come to you?" he asked quietly.
Nina’s pulse hammered in her ears.
She couldn’t find her voice.
Rodrigo’s jaw tightened.
His gaze searched hers for a long moment before he gave a faint strangled exhale.
"I’m not sure I can stop if I do."
The words lingered between them, settling into the silence of the room, and Nina found herself staring at him, her pulse loud in her ears as she searched his face. The warning should have mattered. It should have made her think about all the reasons this was a bad idea, all the reasons she should pull away and put some distance between them, but as she looked at him, none of those thoughts seemed capable of taking root.
All she could see was him.
The strain in his eyes. The way he held himself so still, as though the slightest movement would snap whatever control he had left. The way his eyes stayed fixed on hers, searching, waiting.
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then Nina lifted her hands.
The motion was slow enough that she thought she saw surprise flicker across his face before she touched him, and something in his eyes seemed to soften when her palms settled against his cheeks. The roughness of his jaw grazed her skin, warm beneath her fingertips, and for a second he simply looked at her, as though surprised by her action.
Nina swallowed.
"Then, don’t."
The words came out little more than a whisper.
A faint frown pulled at his brow, and she felt his breath catch beneath her hands.
Before she could lose her nerve, she brushed her thumb across his cheek and said quietly, "I’ll come to you instead."
Something flashed in his eyes as he stilled at her words. His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth before lifting back to her eyes, and for a moment neither of them seemed capable of moving, caught in that last sliver of distance that still existed between them.
Then she leaned in and kissed him.
The contact was so light she barely felt it at first, just the warmth of his lips against hers, but she felt his breath catch anyway. His eyes slid shut, and she felt his hand settle at her waist, not pulling her closer, not urging her on, simply resting there as though he needed the reassurance that she was real.
The tenderness of it made her heart ache.
When she kissed him again, a little more certain this time, he tilted his head slightly and exhaled against her mouth, and Nina felt something inside her unravel at the sound. There was no urgency in him, none of the hunger from the night before, only a carefulness that somehow felt far more intimate.
When they finally drew apart, it was only enough to breathe.
Their foreheads brushed, neither willing to put more distance between them, and for several seconds all Nina could hear was the uneven rhythm of their breathing.
Rodrigo opened his eyes first.
The look he gave her then was enough to make her forget every coherent thought she’d ever had.
His hand lifted from her waist to her face, his thumb tracing slowly across her cheek, and she watched his throat move as he swallowed.
He didn’t look away. He rarely did when he looked at her like that, as if everything else in the world had fallen out of focus.
Then, slowly, he leaned in.
The kiss landed on her forehead so gently it felt almost unreal. More like a breath than contact. Nina’s eyes drifted shut before she could think, her entire body softening in response, as if the tension she hadn’t realized she was holding had finally been allowed to unravel.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then his arms slid around her.
He pulled her into his chest with a quiet, deliberate motion. Nina barely had time to adjust before her cheek pressed against him, warmth and steady weight surrounding her. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Her breath caught slightly.
Nina hesitated for only a second before she shifted her arms around him, returning the hug. Her fingers curled lightly into the fabric of his shirt as something in her chest eased without her permission.
He exhaled.
Long. Slow. Almost like relief had finally found somewhere to land.
And then he held her tighter.Nina didn’t move for a while.
She just listened to his heartbeat, his breathing loud in her ears. Her own body followed it without thinking, slowing, settling.
When she finally lifted her head slightly, his face was still close enough that she could see him clearly.
His eyes were closed, lashes casting soft shadows on his cheeks. Her chest softened at the sight.
He had fallen asleep holding her.
A small, quiet smile formed on her lips before she could stop it. Something warm and unguarded spread through her, making her toes curl under the blanket.
She stayed like that for another moment, just watching him, as if the world outside this room didn’t exist at all.
For once, there was nothing to think about. Nothing to question. Nothing to fear.
Just this. Just him.
Her hand shifted slightly against his back, still holding him lightly, anchoring herself to the moment.
...
Rodrigo stirred awake in the bright morning light.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains, washing the room in a warm golden glow. The fabric swayed gently in the breeze, stirring the cool scent of earth that drifted through the open window.
He blinked once.
Then he noticed the weight against him.
Nina was asleep on his chest.
Her hair had come loose during the night, spilling across his shirt and half across her face. The blonde roots were unmistakable now, pale against the darker lengths. A few strands moved softly with every breath she took.
Rodrigo went still.
For a moment, he simply looked at her. A knot he had not realized he was carrying loosened somewhere beneath his ribs. Her lips were slightly parted in sleep. Every breath left her quietly, unguarded and steady.
The corner of his mouth lifted before he could stop it.
Usually, he woke with responsibilities already waiting for him. Meetings. Reports. Threats. Decisions that affected thousands of lives.
This morning, the first thing he saw was her.
His gaze lingered.
Carefully, so carefully she would not wake, he lifted a hand and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. The movement revealed more of her features, and something tightened painfully in his chest.
He should have looked away.
Instead, he found himself studying details he had never allowed himself time to notice.
The faint crease between her brows even in sleep.
The curve of her cheek.
The way one of her hands had curled loosely against his side, as though she had reached for him sometime during the night without realizing it.
His throat tightened.
She trusted him enough to sleep like this.
The realization settled heavily inside him.
Rodrigo lifted his gaze to the ceiling, his jaw clenching.
She had lied to him.
He still had no explanation for how she had survived the eleventh night. He still did not know why her heart raced when she was lying, or why every answer she gave seemed carefully measured.
Too many things about her refused to make sense.
Every instinct he possessed told him to keep digging into her. To watch her more closely. To uncover whatever she was hiding before it became a threat to his pack.
Yet, lying against him now, with her breathing soft and steady against his chest, she didn’t feel dangerous.
She felt fragile.
His gaze dropped back to her face.
A knot formed beneath his ribs.
He should have put distance between them. He should have remembered that trust, once misplaced, could destroy everything.
Instead, all he could think about was how naturally she fit against him.
How easily the tension left his body when she was near.
And that frightened him far more than any secret she might be keeping.
He wanted to know her.
He wanted to know what made her smile.
What she dreamed about.
What kind of life she lived before this. But most of all, he wanted more ordinary mornings like this.
Waking up her to her, with no single care in the world. The thoughts came so naturally that they startled him. Rodrigo shut his eyes, a tight ache forming in his chest.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
