Page 58 of Liam

An hour later, I’m helping her into my home, Marcus a silent presence behind us.

“You didn’t have to do this, Liam,” she mumbles.

“I wanted to,” I reply, tightening my arm around her waist as she stumbles. “I need to know you’re safe.”

She looks up at me, her eyes searching mine. “Why?”

I swallow hard, years of maintained distance crumbling in the face of how close I came to losing her. “Because... Because you matter to me, Aleria. More than I think you realize.”

Her breath catches, and for a moment, we stand there on the precipice of something neither of us is quite ready to name. Then she sways, reminding me of her fragile state.

“Come,” I say, guiding her toward the guest room. “Let’s get you settled.”

I guide Aleria toward the guest room, hyper-aware of her body next to mine. Her warmth, her scent—even tinged with smoke—it’s all overwhelming. As I help her into bed, my hand lingers on hers. I have to force myself to let go.

There’s a universe of things I want to say. How seeing her trapped in that lab was the most terrifying moment of my life. How the thought of losing her made me realize just how deep my feelings run.

That I fucking love her.

That I never really got over her after college. That maybe every woman since then was just me trying to forget the quiet physics student with mismatched socks who saw straightthrough my Valeur façade. That she's always been it for me, even when I was too stupid or scared to realize it.

But the words stick in my throat. She needs rest, not my emotional baggage.

As I turn to leave, letting her rest, Aleria’s voice stops me. “Liam?”

My heart skips at the vulnerability in her expression.

“When I was trapped in that lab,” she says, “all I could think about was you.”

The admission hits me like a physical blow. “Aleria,” I breathe, crossing back to her bedside in two quick strides. “I was terrified I might lose you.”

Our eyes lock, and the world seems to fall away. There’s only Aleria, only this moment. The air between us charged with years of unspoken feelings and near misses, of coffee shop almost-conversations and shared glances across lecture halls, of all the times I should have told her how I felt but didn't.

I lean in slightly, drawn by the warmth in her eyes, then catch myself. She needs rest, not...

I start to pull back, already cursing myself for this moment of weakness?—

“Oh, for heaven's sake.” Aleria's fingers curl around the back of my neck, and she pulls me closer. “Kiss me already, you stupid man.”

For a split second, I'm frozen. Then our lips meet, and everything else fades away. The kiss starts soft, tender, almost reverent.

Then something snaps.

Years of pent-up emotion come pouring out as the kiss deepens. My hands cup her face, memorizing every contour.Her fist is in my shirt, pulling me closer like she’s afraid I might disappear. I pour everything I can’t say into the kiss—my fear, my relief, my love.

When we break apart, we’re both breathless. I rest my forehead against hers, unwilling to put any more distance between us than necessary.

“Liam, I...” she begins but trails off, at a loss for words.

As I look into her eyes, I see a whirlwind of emotions that likely mirror my own. Confusion, hope, fear, and something deeper, something neither of us is quite ready to name out loud.

In this moment, I realize everything has changed. There’s no going back to the careful distance we’ve maintained, no pretending this didn’t happen. The thought is both thrilling and terrifying.

“Aleria,” I say, squeezing her hand. “It’s late. We don’t have to figure this all out right now. You need to rest. But I’m not going anywhere. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better. I promise.”

Chapter Seventeen

ALERIA