She came back in pieces.
Warmth first.
A heartbeat beneath her ear. Steady.
She opened her eyes slowly.
Fin was shirtless, the hard lines of his abs on full display. She was tucked against him with her legs tangled in his, and from the position of his arms, he had not adjusted his grip once since he'd settled her here. He had not moved. He had held her exactly like this and waited.
His breathing was too controlled, the kind of controlled that meant he'd been barely keeping it together and the effort was costing him.
She felt his relief crash through their matebond so hard it made her heart ache.
She shoved calm into him again. Gently this time. Not the emergency push from the study but something slower. The emotional equivalent of, I'm here. I'm breathing. You can stand down.
He jolted. Then his entire body loosened by degrees, like tension he'd been carrying for hours finally finding permission to leave.
