Page 169 of Break Me

The knowing.

It’s there.

Quiet.

Unspoken.

But it’s there.

My chest tightens, not with fear, not anymore. It’s an understanding, a knowing that settles deep inside. I don’t want to waste a second of what’s left.

“Sam,” I whisper, my voice soft, thinner than I expect.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” he says, leaning closer. “I’m right here.”

“I think…” My breath catches. “I think it’s time.”

He shakes his head before I even finish.

“You’re just tired,” he says, his voice uneven around the edges. “That’s all this is. You just need to rest.”

I watch him as he says it.

The way he needs it to be true.

“Sam,” I say quieter now.

“No,” he says, the word coming too fast. “No, it’s not. Don’t—don’t say that.”

His hand tightens around mine like he’s trying to hold me here. Like if he just keeps enough of me anchored, I won’t slip any further away.

My fingers curl slightly against his wrist, enough to stop him, enough to pull him back to me instead of whatever he’s trying to hold onto. He stills, and I hold his gaze, not looking away. Not letting him hide from it or from me.

“Wolf, please,” I whisper. “Don’t make me stay here.”

There’s a pause.

For a second, I think he’s going to fight me the way he always does when it comes to losing me. But he doesn’t. He knows this time I’m asking him to keep his word.

His arm slides beneath me, careful, like he’s afraid of hurting me even now, and he shifts me closer, lifting me just enough to bring me fully against him, my weight settling into his chest as his arm wraps tighter around my back.

His other hand comes up slowly, his fingers slipping carefully through my hair, smoothing it back from my face like he’s not thinking about it. Like he just needs to touch me. Like he’s anchoring himself before he can do anything else.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his hand coming up to my face, his thumb brushing slow and unsteady across my cheek.

“Are you sure?” he asks, his voice rough, barely holding together.

I don’t hesitate.

I don’t need to.

I nod.

His gaze lingers on mine for a second longer. He’s trying to take all of me with him, every detail, every part he won’t be able to reach the same way again.

Then he leans closer.

I breathe him in. Not just the air between us, but him. The way he smells—citrus and sandalwood.