Page 82 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part One

The car moves forward, bringing us back to Earth.

“Is that why you’re so analytical? Your heart’s part of the equation, but you lean on facts and numbers.”

I nod slowly. “One thing the experience taught me? Trust, but verify.”

He grins. “You’re quoting Reagan?”

I snort. “Yeah, well. Even broken clocks and all that jazz.”

Another silence. This one, gentler. His fingers keep stroking mine, and it’s making itveryhard to pretend I’m unaffected.

“You seem okay being up here,” I say after a while. “I was worried it’d trigger your….”

His jaw tightens slightly, and I regret the words instantly. But before I can backtrack, his hand tightens in mine.

“I’m fine. It’s not dark like a tomb. I can see. I’m not trapped.”

I nod, not just because I understand, but because Ifeelthat understanding, bone deep.

“You’re here with me,” he adds, voice low. “That helps.”

I should pull away, but I don’t.

The car moves again.

I ask the question that’s been burning my throat since the moment he kissed me in the elevator.

“What are we doing here, Storm?”

He meets my gaze fully, like he’s looking through me.

“I’ll tell you what I want. But I want to hear what you think, first.”

I hesitate, heart thundering. “You want me.”

His silence is confirmation, so I push further.

“I think you…like me?”

The softest smile touches his mouth. “Yes,” he says. “To all of it.”

Then he reaches for my face. And I let him.

“I like you, Sweetness. I want you. All of you. Your mind. Your heart. Your body.”

The words pour out of him like honey and thunder. And I…God. Ifeelit. Every syllable. Every heartbeat.

I release my trapped breath and whisper, “Why do you call me that?”

And then, just like that, I start to pull back—folding my arms, putting up my walls. It’s all happening too fast, and I need space to breathe. To think.

“You’re sweet,” he says simply, but I see the flash of something deeper behind his eyes.

“That’s all you’re getting out of me, Shae.”

And just like that, I’m disarmed, and we move again.

I shove him playfully. “Sure thing, Slick.”

---