Her eyes opened halfway—blue, unfocused. Scared and lost.
And underneath the fear… something older.
A hurt that had been carried a long time.
Jake slid his hand under her head and lifted it gently. Heat poured off her skin. Not just sun heat. The kind that made your palm feel like it had touched iron.
He checked her shoulder, careful, looking for wounds.
Her lips moved again.
“That is forbidden.”
This time it didn’t sound like a warning.
It sounded like a plea.
And in that instant, Jake understood something that changed the way he touched her.
