Page 36 of Lost in Fire

“Because I was afraid you’d try to save me. And in trying to save me, you’d get yourself killed.” My hands cover his, holding them against my skin. “I couldn’t live with that.”

“So instead, you chose to live with this.”

“Yes.”

We stare at each other across the wreckage of our choices.

“Our daughter,” he says quietly. “Tell me about her.”

“Her name is Ember. She’s beautiful. Strong. Stubborn as hell.” A smile tugs at my lips despite the tears. “She has your eyes but my temper. And she’s powerful, Hargen. More powerful than I imagined possible.”

“And she’s in danger.”

“She’s in danger.”

“From Vex.”

“From all of them. The moment they discover what she is, they’ll kill her. Vex will make an example of her. Of me.” I meet his eyes. “Unless we get her out first.”

“We?”

The question hangs between us, loaded with possibility. With hope I don’t dare name.

“If you’ll help me,” I whisper. “If you can forgive me enough to help save our daughter.”

His answer comes without hesitation. “Yes.”

The simple word breaks something open inside my chest. Relief and gratitude so fierce it steals my breath.

“Thank you,” I breathe.

“My God. Do you honestly believe my answer would be anything else?”

“Hargen… I….” The space between us shrinks. His eyes drop to my mouth, and suddenly I’m hyperaware of every point ofcontact between us. The heat of his hands. The way his breath catches when I unconsciously wet my lips.

“Vanya.” My name comes out rough. Hungry.

“I’ve missed you,” I whisper. “God, I’ve missed you so much.”

That’s all it takes.

His mouth crashes against mine with such desperate hunger that I nearly lose my footing, my body instinctively yielding to his as though our time apart had been nothing but a momentary separation. His hands tangle in my hair, fingers threading through the platinum strands I’ve kept so severely controlled, while mine clutch at his shoulders.

He tastes exactly as I remember—like wood. smoke and mountain air, like the wild freedom I abandoned for duty and survival. Like home. Like the man who claimed my heart when I was a younger woman with dreams of something beyond bloodline politics. The man I never truly stopped loving, even as I built walls of lies between us.

His lips are firm against mine, moving with urgency as his mouth claims everything I’ve denied him for so long. I part my lips for him, and he groans—a sound that vibrates through my chest and awakens something fierce in my core. His teeth graze my lower lip, a gentle bite that sends heat racing down my spine, and I respond by pressing closer, my mouth opening wider to deepen our connection.

The kiss transforms into something primal and consuming that makes my dragon stir beneath my skin. His tongue sweeps against mine, tasting, exploring, reclaiming territory that was always his. I can feel the tremor in his hands where they frame my face, the way his breathing stutters when I nip at his upper lip before soothing it with my tongue. Two decades of separation evaporate as we pour everything we can’t possibly articulate into this raw, frantic connection.

His mouth travels to the corner of mine, pressing fervent kisses along my jaw as I tilt my head back to give him access. When his lips find that sensitive spot just below my ear, I exhale a shaky breath that mingles with his name. He returns to my mouth with renewed hunger, and this time when our lips meet, there’s nothing gentle about it—just pure need and years of suppressed longing.

My carefully constructed identity—the cold, calculating Shadowhand—dissolves beneath his touch, leaving only Vanya, the woman who sacrificed everything but never stopped yearning for this very moment.

A sharp buzzing sound has my heart halting.

Shit!

We break apart, breathing hard as we struggle to regain composure. My lips are swollen from our kiss, slightly parted as I draw ragged breaths.

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