Page 22 of Closer Than You Think
“Are you okay?” Her voice cuts through the haze, concern lacing her words, and it anchors me back to the present. Hallie St. James stands before me—not just a beacon of hope, but a tether to a world less grim than my own.
“Always,” I lie smoothly, pushing back the night terrors into their box. For her, I can be the calm against the chaos, a sentinelstanding guard. But for how long can I straddle both worlds—the light in her eyes and the darkness in my soul—before they collide?
“Good,” she says, a fragile smile touching her lips, and it feels like a reward for every battle I've fought internally. “Because I need you.”
The world shrinks to the electric warmth of her hand on mine. I can't breathe, can't think—there's only Hallie, her skin against my callouses, her pulse thrumming like a drumbeat through the silence.
“Silas,” she breathes one more time, and that's all it takes.
Desire, raw and unyielding, surges through me, obliterating the last wisps of restraint. My hand tightens around hers, pulling her closer until our breaths mingle. Her eyes, wide and luminous, reflect a storm of emotions mirroring my own—a tempestuous dance of fear and longing.
“Hallie,” I rasp, voice laced with an edge of urgency. The air between us crackles, charged with the undeniable force of our combined chaos and need.
I grab her, hands framing her face, and crush my lips to hers. The kiss is fierce, a conflagration that consumes us both. She gasps into my mouth, a sound that seizes my heart and stokes the flames higher. I'm lost in the taste of her—sweet and intoxicating—as if she's the oxygen I've been deprived of for too long.
Her fingers sink into my hair, tugging me closer. I groan, the vibration of sound swallowed by her eager response. Our bodies press together, a perfect alignment of curves and angles, as if we're two pieces of a puzzle finally clicking into place.
“Please,” she whispers against my lips, and the word is a key turning in a lock—releasing something primal within me.
I trail kisses along her jaw, down her neck, each touch a promise etched into her skin. She tilts her head back, baringher throat to me in silent surrender. My hands roam over her, memorizing the contours of her body through the thin fabric of her dress.
“More,” she pleads, her voice a siren's call that I'm powerless to resist.
“Always,” I vow, sealing my words with another searing kiss that leaves us both breathless and reeling, on the precipice of a darkness lit by the fire of our connection.
Eleven
Hallie
Ashiver of anticipation races down my spine as Silas's piercing green eyes lock onto mine, our bodies pressed tightly together in a passionate embrace. The air around us feels electric, charged with a desire that is impossible to deny.
“Please,” I whisper, my voice trembling with need. His hands roam over my body, igniting a fire within me that threatens to consume us both. Our lips crash together, desperate and hungry, tongues dancing in a rhythm that leaves me breathless and wanting more.
“God, Hallie,” he murmurs against my lips, his voice low and husky, “I can't get enough of you.”
His fingers tease the hem of dress, slipping underneath the fabric and ghosting across my skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. I arch my back, pressing myself closer to him, the heat of his body searing into me like a brand.
“Si . . . please,” I beg, unsure of what exactly I'm asking for but certain that only he can provide it.
“Anything, baby,” he promises, his eyes darkening with lust and something deeper, something I can't quite name. He rips my dress in half, exposing my body to him. I gasp in shock, but there’s no time to think about it because his hands to exploreme, roughly tracing the curve of my waist and the swell of my hips. He’s rougher than I expect, or would normally want, but the pain makes me delirious with pleasure.
“Your touch . . . it's like magic,” I confess, my heart pounding in my chest as I allow myself to be swept away by the intensity of our connection. His lips find mine again, claiming me with a ferocity that sends shivers down my spine.
“Only because it's you,” he whispers, his words sending a thrill through me. “You're everything, Hallie. You don’t even know.”
As we continue to lose ourselves in each other's touch, I can't help but wonder how this man has managed to burrow so deeply under my skin, how his presence has become something I crave like a drug. I barely know him, but it feels like I’ve had him before.
The sensation of Silas's fingertips tracing circles on my arm, coaxing goosebumps to rise on my skin, leaves me breathless. The heat of his body pressed against mine contrasts with the cool air in the dimly lit room, creating a perfect storm of desire and need.
“Silas,” I whisper, my voice barely audible as our lips part, each ragged breath feeling like an eternity. “This . . . it feels so familiar.”
His piercing green eyes search mine. “Yeah?” He stares at me, as if waiting for me to say more, but I don’t know what he wants to hear.
I shiver, but can't shake the nagging feeling that there's something more. Memories of a haunting dream stir in the back of my mind, clouding my thoughts and causing a flicker of doubt.
“Maybe you’ve always been mine,” he says, kissing my jaw, distracting me from my thoughts as he continues to explore my body with calloused precision. Every touch sends shiversdown my spine, igniting a fire within me that demands to be quenched.
“Maybe you're right,” I concede, my doubts fading as the pleasure he elicits consumes me. “Whatever the reason, I can't deny how good this feels.”
