Bonus Scene
(Ace POV)
It’s quiet.
For the first time in what feels like forever—
it’s actually quiet.
No comms in my ear.
No movement outside the walls.
No threat waiting in the shadows.
Just her.
Tessa stands near the window, the soft glow of the outside lights brushing across her skin, catching in her hair. The shop is closed. Locked up. Safe.
Safe.
That word still feels new.
She exhales slowly, like she’s finally letting something go. Not all of it—maybe not ever—but enough.
I lean against the doorframe for a second, watching her.
Taking her in.
Because I almost lost this.
Almost lost her.
And that thought?
It still sits heavy in my chest.
“You’re staring again,” she says quietly, not turning around.
A small smile tugs at my mouth.
“Can’t help it.”
She turns then, slowly, and the look in her eyes—
Yeah.
That hits harder than anything we just went through.
Not fear.
Not uncertainty.
Something steady.
Something real.
“You always say that,” she murmurs.
“Because it’s true.”
I push off the wall and walk toward her.
No rush.
No urgency.
Just… choice.
Every step closing the distance between us feels different now. Not driven by adrenaline. Not by danger.
Just by wanting her.
Needing her.
I stop in front of her.
Close.
Close enough that I can feel her breath, warm and soft against my chest.
“You okay?” I ask.
It’s quiet. Gentle.
She nods.
“Yeah,” she says. “I think… I finally am.”
I study her face.
Looking for cracks.
For anything she’s hiding.
But all I see is her.
Strong.
Still standing.
Still here.
“Good,” I say, softer now.
Because that matters more than anything else.
Her hand lifts slowly, resting against my chest.
Right over my heart.
Like she’s grounding herself.
Or maybe grounding me.
“I didn’t think I’d get this back,” she says quietly.
“This?” I ask.
She glances around the room.
Then back at me.
“All of it,” she whispers. “My life. My space. Feeling like… me again.”
My hand comes up, brushing lightly along her jaw.
“You never stopped being you,” I tell her.
Her eyes soften.
“Maybe not,” she says. “But I forgot for a while.”
My thumb traces her cheek.
“Not anymore.”
A breath passes between us.
Slow.
Heavy.
Real.
And then—
She leans in first.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
That’s all it takes.
I close the distance.
Kiss her.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Not rushed.
Not desperate.
Just… right.
Her hands slide up my chest, gripping my shirt as the kiss deepens, as the space between us disappears completely.
I pull her closer, one hand at her waist, the other threading into her hair, holding her like I’m not letting go.
Not now.
Not ever.
She breathes against me, soft and warm, and I feel it—the shift.
The difference.
We’re not fighting something anymore.
We’re choosing this.
Choosing each other.
I pull back just enough to look at her.
Her lips parted. Eyes still half-closed.
“Tell me you’re sure,” I murmur.
Her brow furrows slightly.
“About what?”
“About this,” I say, my voice low. “About me.”
Because I need to hear it.
Not as a reaction.
Not because of what we just survived.
But because she wants it.
Her hand slides up, cupping my jaw the way she did before.
Intentional.
Certain.
“I’m sure,” she says.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
And that?
That’s everything.
I kiss her again.
Deeper this time.
Stronger.
Because now there’s nothing holding us back.
No fear.
No unfinished business.
Just us.
Her back meets the counter behind her, and she laughs softly against my mouth.
“You’re not even trying to be subtle,” she whispers.
“Don’t need to be,” I answer.
Her smile grows.
“Good.”
Her fingers curl into my shirt again, pulling me closer, and I go willingly—no resistance, no second guessing.
Because this?
This is exactly where I want to be.
With her.
Always.
I slow the kiss after a moment, resting my forehead against hers, letting the world settle again.
Letting this moment mean something.
“It’s really over,” she whispers.
“Yeah,” I say.
My hand slides to hers, threading our fingers together.
“And now?”
She exhales softly.
A small smile lifting her lips.
“Now we get to live.”
I look at her.
At everything she’s fought through.
Everything she’s become.
And I nod.
“Yeah,” I say quietly.
Then I pull her in again—
Not because we’re running from something.
But because we finally don’t have to.
And for the first time—
That’s enough.
THE END
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