Violet
Rowan's eyes searched my face, and I looked down, unable to hold his gaze.
"It was nothing—I just… wanted to welcome you back," I added quickly, my voice smaller than I intended. "That's all."
The silence stretched between us.
Then his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest once again.
He buried his face into the curve of my neck, and I felt him inhale deeply, breathing me in.
I stood frozen, my heart hammering.
"Rowan?"
"It might sound silly," he murmured against my skin, his voice low and rough. "But you have no idea how happy that made me."
Something in my chest fluttered at his words.
He stayed there, his breath warm against my neck, and for a moment, everything else faded. Then his breath shifted, ghosting across the sensitive skin below my ear, and I shivered.
It tickled.
I squirmed against him. "Rowan—"
He didn't let go immediately, and his breath came again, this time deliberate.
