Lola’s POV

His hand was warm on my cheek. Steady. Familiar. It made the ground beneath my feet feel unsteady.

Kael was standing so close I could count the flecks of gold in his eyes. The kind of close that used to make me lose my breath… and right now, I was fighting every instinct in me not to lean into him.

“Tell me,” he said again, low and rough. “Tell me you feel nothing, and I’ll back off.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling my pulse thunder in my ears.

This was it.

One word.

One word and he’d walk away.

One word and I could return...