Chapter 20
Raine
The adrenaline hasn’t left my veins even after Tristan helps me inside.
My hands won’t stop shaking as he locks the door, checks the windows, and moves through each room like he’s done it a hundred times.
When he comes back, he looks at me the way a storm studies the coast—measuring, certain he’ll destroy it sooner or later.
“You shouldn’t be alone tonight,” he says quietly.
The words should make me bristle. Instead, they feel like oxygen.
I nod before I can talk myself out of it. “Stay.”
He exhales, a low sound that might be relief—or defeat.
While I make tea with trembling fingers, he resets the lock again, double-checking the bolt.
We sit on opposite ends of the couch, the silence heavy, broken only by the hum of the storm outside.
When our eyes meet, everything between us tilts.
The fear that’s been living under my skin turns into something slower, hotter.
His gaze drops to my mouth; mine to the pulse beating hard in his throat.
“Raine,” he murmurs, like saying my name costs him.
I don’t know who moves first.
One second there’s distance; the next, his hand is at my jaw, his mouth claiming mine.
The kiss is heat and apology, desperation and promise all at once. He tastes like rain and whiskey and everything I shouldn’t want.
When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispers.
And for the first time since I came here, I believe it.
Later, when the house finally settles and the night softens, we end up tangled on the couch.
His heartbeat is slow against my back, his arm heavy across my waist.
I whisper, “Don’t go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
For the first time since I arrived in Shadow Falls, it feels like home. I’m warm and safe in his arms.
Sleep drags at me, pulling me under.