Chapter 37: Chapter 37 : It Had Been Too Long Since I Had You

“Will… will you come back to visit me again?” I stuttered. “I enjoy having you… having you here with me.”

He froze.

For a moment, he just looked at me. Then he arched an eyebrow, as if he couldn’t imagine that his company was pleasing.

“Please... I feel safer when you're around,” I added.

My confession came out of nowhere. I immediately realized that, subconsciously, I had wanted to say it.

But when I actually spoke the words aloud, I realized that it wasn’t my place to even think about it.

Ethan didn’t seem to mind, though. His fingers took my chin and lifted my gaze from my hands to his eyes.

Then, slowly, he leaned down and captured my lips with his own.

The kiss was soft and gentle.

If I could have deepened the kiss, I would have, like a greedy child wanting more of a good thing. I wanted more of him, always— but at the end of the day, he wasn’t mine to have more of.