Page 54

CHAPTER 53

Hunter

She’s lying on my chest. And for once, I don’t feel like running.

Her breath is slow. Steady.

The kind of rhythm that only comes after chaos.

One of her legs is tangled with mine and her hand rests over my heart, like she’s trying to memorize the rhythm.

My arm stays around her bare back, fingertips grazing the curve of her spine.

Just… holding her. It’s nothing.

And it’s everything.

She’s warm. Heavy in the way people only are when they feel safe.

And that’s what shatters me.

Because she trusts me.

With this. With her.

I stare at the ceiling, trying to soak in every second.

Every inhale. Every brush of her skin against mine.

This isn’t something I get to keep.

But for now? She’s mine.

Not because she said it.

Not because she gave me permission.

Because I’d burn the whole fucking world down before I let anything take her from me again.

I tighten my grip, just slightly.

Enough to feel her settle even deeper into me.

She hums softly and nuzzles her face into my neck.

And I swear to God I stop breathing.

She pulls away and looks up at me with that stormy grey gaze of hers, lashes fluttering like she already knows the answer.

“Why do you call me Little Diamond?”

That look.

She’ll be the death of me.

I reply, voice low and utterly wrecked, “Because you’re small,” I murmur.

“And you’re the most precious fucking thing in my world.”

Then she kisses me.

And fuck, she tastes better than I ever imagined.

She tastes like mine.

Little Diamond. My ruin. My salvation.