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Ki’Remi exhaled and slid around the booth, shifting closer to her.

Issa stiffened as his presence neared, the glow of the table light illuminating her golden skin.

He didn’t speak, didn’t demand a thing from her.

He didn’t even attempt to comfort her with superficial banalities.

He just reached for her.

A hesitation flickered across her face.

Slowly, with tentative care, she eased into his silent grasp.

The heat of her on him sent a shudder through his chest, followed by an unexpected tightening.

She felt slight in comparison to his bulk but not fragile.

Nada.

Issa Elaris was anything but vulnerable.

He didn’t provide empty platitudes and promises or say it’d be okay.

Instead, he gripped her as she sighed and sagged onto him.

Allowing herself to be embraced for what he suspected was the first time in a long time.

17

Sol’s Glorious Light

ISSA

With her saga complete, Issa braced, expecting resistance and disdainful skepticism.

Instead, Ki’Remi reached for her.

Not with hesitation. Not with uncertainty. With intent.

His sinewed, muscled arms gripped her with care as if he could sense the fragile unraveling inside her.

She didn’t pull away, though she knew she should.

However, her mask was cracking.

Her breath hitched as she pressed against his heat, a solid, steady anchor in her chaotic world.

His scent surrounded her: spiced rum, dark smoke, and a decadent musk that was uniquely his.

For a long moment, they remained silent, curved into each other in the privacy of the metanoid shield over them.

Without warning, the dam inside her broke.

Her shoulders shuddered, and she sobbed, free of restraint, devoid of the usual defiance she hid behind.

His sizable hands worked her spine, running up and down, offering heat, warmth, and security.

Which only wracked her even harder.