Page 102 of Velvet Chains
Then: “I’ve been waiting for your call.”
Of course she had.
I hung up five minutes later with a time, a place, and a million new reasons to panic. But it was done. I stood alone in my office, looking out over the city I had sworn to protect.
And I realized I was finally doing it.
Even if it meant I might lose everything else.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Ruby
At least I had Christmas to prepare.
That's what I had told myself. In reality, all I was doing was spiraling.
The snow had started around dusk. At first just flurries, soft and half-hearted, but now it was coming down hard. Thick, wet, sideways. The kind of storm that made everything quieter and heavier and too still. The kind that made you feel like the only person left in the world.
Rosie was at Julian’s, sleeping over after they saw The Nutcracker. She’d left her glittery tights on the floor of her bedroom and her stuffed dragon curled up under the duvet. The house felt too big without her. Too cold. Too temporary.
And that was the problem.
Because every time the house felt like this—like a hollowed-out husk—I wanted him.
I was supposed to be packing—just a few things to start the slow, clinical move back to Julian’s condo. A toothbrush…a favorite mug. The framed photo of Rosie in her astronaut costume, still in its mismatched frame. But I hadn’t touched anything. I’d opened a cabinet, stared into it like it might give me answers, then poured a glass of wine I didn’t even want and curled up on the couch.
I wasn’t looking at the clock. I wasn’t checking my phone. I wasn’t waiting.
Except I was.
Because when the stillness got too loud, when the cold sank in too deep, when I could feel every inch of space around me—I always wanted him.
Kieran was the only thing that made me feel full.
The fireplace crackled across the room, doing its best. I barely noticed it—because outside, a car door slammed. Footsteps echoed on the sidewalk, then the path to my front door, getting closer.
Still, I didn’t move.
Because I felt him before I saw him.
That shift in the air—tense, familiar. Like my body knew before my brain did. My heart picked up. My skin went taut.
Then the knock came. Not loud. Not demanding. Just…there. Like he already knew I’d open the door.
I stared at it. At the quiet, solid shape of it.
Then I got up.
When I opened it, the cold rushed in first—but even that couldn’t compete with him. Kieran stood in the storm like he belonged to it. Snow clung to his coat, melting on his shoulders. His hair was damp. His jaw was bruised—just a shadow of something recent. His eyes locked on mine, and they didn’t move. Didn’t flicker. Didn’t blink. He hadn’t called in advance, didn’t bother…like he’d read my mind and knew I wanted him,neededhim.
“Kieran,” I said, breath catching in my throat.
“You alone?” he asked.
Fuck him. He knew I was alone.
He was always, always watching.
I stepped aside and he stepped in, the door closing behind him with a soft, final click. He didn’t take off his coat. Just stood there, dripping snow onto the hardwood, looking at me like I was the only warm thing in the entire goddamn world. He looked…hurt. Not from the bruise on his jaw, but as if I’d wronged him somehow. I tried not to be pissed about that.
