Was he about to pull that trigger and end her misery? Was her last act on earth going to be putting her trust in the wrong man, yet again?
Her heart thudded.
Should she have just run away and lived her entire life with the regret of never knowing, never exploring the possibility between them? Could she have lived better without offering him a semblance of closure?
Her body started trembling.
Seconds, minutes, hours. Suspended between them. Between his choice and hers.
Memories, moments, an entire history. Stuck between them. Between his choice and hers.
Questions, doubts, fears. Settling between them. Between his choice and hers.
Silence.
She was coming undone, bit by bit. She was fraying apart at the edges, bit by bit. She was imploding in on herself, bit by bit.
She needed him to make a choice. She needed him to choose her like he'd chosen her years ago. She needed him to choose her – because, after the day she'd had, her father trying to kill her like her life was worthless, she needed him to choose her, not for her life, but herself.
Silence.
A change in the air around her.
The scent of wood and musk.
The warmth of a breath over her face.
And then she felt it.
Lips.
Soft, tender lips settling upon hers.
Her heart stopped.
It fucking stopped as her stomach bottomed out.
Her gasp got stuck in her throat as her lips started to tremble against his, her eyes stinging, her heart full.
She didn’t dare open her eyes, fearful that this would stop, that he would stop. She didn’t dare open her eyes, fearful that the moment would be shattered never to be realized again. She didn’t dare open her eyes, fearful of the tear that hung on the threshold of her lashes.
She didn’t dare breathe.
And he brushed those soft lips against her, before settling again.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her breaths hastening, fingers curling into her palms to keep from touching him since he wasn’t touching her, even as she tilted her head back as far as it would go, letting his lips lock with hers better.
A cold drop of rain fell on her cheek. Thunder rent the sky.
She parted her lips, feeling the shape, the make, the beauty of his. He captured her bottom one, sucking on it lightly before brushing her lips again.
The rain came down, drenching them both within seconds.
She let go of that tear in her eye, letting it mingle with the rain, the tremors of her lips evident against his. His mouth pressed onto hers more firmly, no other parts of his body touching hers. The scruff around his lips chafed across hers in a way that sent her flesh tingling, wondering about places his mouth could go and how that delicious scruff would feel, making her sway forward slightly.
Morana tilted her head instinctively to the side, her hands shaking as fire rushed through her veins from that minimal contact of his lips.
He kissed her – softly, simply, expertly.