Page 197 of Legacy
For a breathless moment, he doesn’t move.
And I just listen.
The steady, pounding beat of his heart thrums against my ear, louder than the wind outside, louder than the world.
I tighten my arms around him slightly, a silent plea.
I’m here.
I’m staying.
I’m choosing you.
He exhales slowly, the tension bleeding out of him.
His hands settle over mine, covering them.
Large, warm, steady.
He threads our fingers together over his heart.
Anchoring me there.
“Adriana,” he says, voice rough, thick with something he doesn’t know how to name yet.
I close my eyes, soaking in the feel of him.
The weight.
The strength.
The vulnerability.
“It’s Scarlet,” I whisper, my words sinking into his skin.
“I’m not hiding anymore.”
There’s a pause, then he turns in my arms, wrapping me in his warmth.
The solid wall of his chest presses against mine, and I feel everything—
The steady thud of his heart, the slow rise and fall of his breath, the way his body curves instinctively to shelter mine.
“Scarlet,” he repeats, the word catching slightly on his tongue, like he’s tasting it for the first time.
Like it’s something rare.
His thumb brushes over the back of my neck, slow, steady, but sure.
The calloused pad of it drags warmth across my skin, a tiny shiver following in its wake.
“Good morning,” I murmur, my voice barely more than a breath between us.
“Good morning,” he replies, the sound deep and rough, vibrating through his chest and into mine like a second heartbeat.
“Did you sleep well?” he asks, his mouth brushing the crown of my head.
I nod, nestling closer to him, letting the weight of his arms anchor me.
