Chapter 19 Nora
Nora
Evening settled over Eagle River like a deep exhale.
From the tavern’s rooftop deck, the whole town looked calmer than my pulse felt. The river glimmered in the distance, and warm strands of light glowed from streetlamps below. The air smelled faintly of pine, wood, and the apple pies cooling in the bakery downstairs.
I wrapped my arms around myself and stepped to the railing.
The day had been long. Overwhelming. Terrifying.
But here… up high… it felt different.
Safe.
Behind me, soft footsteps padded onto the deck.
Wolf.
His presence filled the space before he said a word.
Heavy. Warm. Protective.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” I said. “I think… I just needed air.”
He came to stand beside me, close enough that our arms brushed.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he murmured.
I smiled faintly. “Me too.”
For a long moment, we watched the horizon together. The sun dipped lower, turning the sky shades of gold and violet. Wolf folded his arms over the rail, but his attention wasn’t on the view.
It was on me.
“You’re quiet,” I said softly.
He huffed a breath. “Just thinking.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
His lips twitched. “Could be.”
I waited.
I’d learned quickly that Wolf spoke when he was ready—never before.
Finally, he said, “I didn’t like leaving you alone today. Even for a second.”
“You didn’t,” I teased. “You hovered.”
“I did not hover.”
“You did,” I insisted. “It was sweet hovering.”
He shook his head, but his mouth softened.
Then his voice dropped lower. “I meant what I said earlier.”
“About what?”
“You staying in the apartment,” he said. “Not being alone. Me being with you.”
My breath hitched. “I know. And I’m grateful.”
He turned to face me fully.
“No,” he said gently. “I don’t think you understand.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
He held my gaze—steady, serious, warm in a way that melted through me.
“When I said you weren’t leaving my sight,” he murmured, “I didn’t mean during the day.”
I swallowed. “You didn’t?”
He shook his head slowly.
“I meant—”
He stepped closer, the heat of him surrounding me.
“—not at night either.”
My pulse fluttered. “Wolf…”
“I wasn’t planning on leaving your room,” he added quietly. “Not tonight. Not any night until this man is caught. Maybe not after that either.
My breath caught.
Hard.
“You were… planning to stay with me?” I whispered.
“I was,” he said. “I am.”
Emotion surged through me—fear, relief, heat, tenderness—all tangled into something that felt dangerously like falling.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked softly.
“I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” he said. “Your safety is already a lot to take in. And I didn’t want you thinking it was about last night. Or that I was assuming anything.”
“It wasn’t about last night?” I asked, voice small.
He searched my face. “It was partly about last night.”
I looked down, heart hammering.
He tipped my chin up with two fingers.
“Nora,” he murmured, “I’m not going to pretend I don’t want to be in your bed. Holding you. Keeping you safe. Feeling you breathe next to me.”
His thumb brushed my cheek. “But even if nothing happened, even if you didn’t want anything more tonight… I’m still not leaving you alone.”
Warmth spread through me so fast it made my knees weak.
“That’s not overwhelming,” I whispered. “That’s… comforting.”
His brows lifted slightly in surprise. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I stepped closer, letting my fingers rest lightly on his chest. “In fact… I thought you were staying in your room tonight.”
He gave a soft, humorless laugh. “No chance.”
Silence stretched, thick and intimate.
Then he leaned down, lips close to my ear.
“Say the word, Nora,” he murmured, voice rough velvet. “Tell me you want me in your room tonight.”
I shivered. “I do.”
His breath left him in a slow, controlled exhale—as if those two words unraveled something inside him.
But he didn’t kiss me.
Not yet.
Instead, he pressed his forehead to mine, steady and grounding.
“Then I’m yours,” he whispered. “All night.”
A thrill shot through me.
Not fear.
Not danger.
Something far more dangerous:
Trust.