Chapter 198

• Elvira
• The warmth of Jaxon’s room wrapped around me like a protective cocoon as we stepped inside. After the long night, after the ache and the tension that had stretched between us for months, this felt like the first time in forever that we were truly together. I could hear the soft rustle of the sheets as he moved, the subtle thump of his heartbeat beneath his skin, the faint scent of him, and something uniquely Jaxon—filling my senses. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat and let myself relax, if only slightly, into the safety of his presence.
• We sat on the edge of his bed, the cool silk of the sheets brushing against my skin, and after a few moments of playful teasing and laughter, of fingers brushing and glances that said more than words ever could, I felt the knot in my chest loosen. The room was silence except for the soft hum of the lamps, the faint rustling of the leaves on the trees beyond his walls, and the steady rhythm of his breathing. It felt impossibly intimate, a bubble where nothing else existed but the two of us.