Page 73 of My Vigilante Valentine

Uh-oh.

No response? From Luna?

This was bad.

I released her instantly, stepping back to give her space.

“What are you thinking about?” I didn’t trust my voice enough for it to come out as more than a whisper.

She kept her eyes on the ground between us, but I hooked my finger under her chin, drawing her eyes back to mine.

“I’m thinking about…” She took a shaky breath, then tried again. “I’m thinking about how long I’ve wanted you to do that and how terrified I am that you’re gonna tell me it was a mistake.”

And then my heart stopped, because she was right to be worried.

Every logical part of my brain screamed for me to do just that. To push her away. To keep her safe from the darkness that followed me everywhere.

But I couldn’t.

Maybe it was selfish, but how could I do that when she was the one who held the light?

“Not a mistake,” I murmured, leaning in to brush my lips across her forehead. “And definitely not pretend anymore.”

“It never was. I was thinking about that earlier. Jax… I was never pretending.”

I swallowed hard, tucking a soft curl behind her ear as I scanned her face. “Neither was I.”

This time, when I kissed her forehead, I lingered, savoring it. Eyes closed, breathing her in. We stayed like that for a long moment, wrapped in each other’s arms in the middle of my kitchen, neither of us speaking.

It was all I could do to stay present, to not think about what was next.

Because now?

Now I had something—someone—to lose.

And Luna Wilde wasn’t the kind of woman you could lose and then expect to come out on the other side.

17

first rule of blade club

I arrived at Wilde Brew for my opening shift even earlier than usual, mostly because I hadn’t slept much. My mind kept replaying the events of the night before like a highlight reel I couldn’t—and didn’t want to—turn off.

Not the bad parts, but the good. If I had to be the type of gal who lost sleep due to endless rumination, at least I was able to focus on happy thoughts. And there’d been plenty to go around.

That kiss.

The way Jax had looked at me after.

The feeling of his hands on my face, on my waist...

And now, as I moved through my opening routine on autopilot, I couldn’t stop touching my lips. They still tingled. It was as if they were trying to remind me that, yes, that really happened, and I couldn’t thank them enough.

I wasn’t sure I’d believe it otherwise.

I’d kissed Jax Thorne.

Or rather,he’dkissedme.

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