I caught her slender pale arm and before she could pull away I drew her in gently but without hesitation, and she collided with my chest like something that weighed almost nothing, and I wrapped my arms around her and held on gently.
She stiffened immediately.
"L… let g—"
"Listen to me," I said quietly, cutting across it.
"Move—!" She pushed against my chest, but there wasn't much force behind it.
"Just listen to me," I said, loosening my hold slightly, enough to give her space, not enough to let her walk away from the conversation entirely. I kept a careful distance, just enough that she wasn't pressed uncomfortably close, but my hands stayed at her shoulders. "Listen, and then I'll move. I promise."
She stopped fighting it. Barely. Her jaw was tight and her eyes were fixed somewhere below my collarbone, refusing to come up and meet mine.
