Chapter 26 · Forbidden Gift

"Get your hands off me, Kael. Now."

Sloane didn’t just say it; she spat the words. She slammed her back against the rusted metal wall of the safehouse, her breath coming in jagged hitches. Her pupils were still blown wide from the neural sync, making her dark eyes look like bottomless pits of ink.

I didn't move. I couldn't. My palm was still pressed against the side of her neck, my thumb grazing the erratic pulse jumping under her skin. The heat between us wasn't just biological—it was that damn sync. Every time our skin touched, it felt like a live wire was being stripped and pressed into my marrow.

"You're shaking," I muttered. My voice sounded raw, like I'd been swallowing glass.

"I'm fine," she snapped, though her voice betrayed her. She tried to shove me away, but her strength was gone. She slid down the wall, her knees buckling.

I caught her. I didn't have a choice. I grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against me to keep her from hitting the concrete floor. The friction of her tactical gear against my chest felt like a scream in the silence of the room.