Kaelen's POV
Lyra lifted her gaze to meet mine.
Her eyes looked enormous in the steamy shower. Something moved behind them that I couldn't quite read.
I pulled my hand back before it could reach for hers.
"Sorry."
The word barely escaped my lips.
"It's okay."
My voice came out controlled. Too controlled. I was grinding the words between my teeth. Fighting every urge that demanded I eliminate the space between us.
We remained frozen there.
Neither moving. Neither speaking. Water cascaded around us. Steam clouded the shower until she became a hazy outline.
My pulse thundered in my chest.
A minute crawled by.
Perhaps another.
Time stretched impossibly thin while weighing a thousand pounds.
"You're clean now," I managed finally because this had to stop before it went any further. I couldn't handle much more.
I rinsed the soap from her hands then lowered the showerhead.
The water cut off.
"I need to get you a towel."
I stepped out before I made a catastrophic mistake.
