Chapter 37: Weird-Weird, Not just weird
"Maybe we—" Craig started, his voice low and rough, then he cut himself off. He ran a hand through his hair, the frustration clear in the tight set of his jaw. "Maybe we should head back. It’s getting late." Without waiting for her answer, he turned away, the sharp edge of his words hanging between them like a warning.
Inside, Craig’s mind was a storm. Every fiber of his being screamed to close the distance, to reach for her again—to claim her like he’d imagined a hundred times before. But the weight of the risks pressed down on him like a stone.
If Conor found out, if his father caught wind of it... the fallout would be chaos. She was a girl who came to Belford to accuse his family of murder—how could he let himself fall for her? How could he risk being owned, completely, by someone so dangerous to his world?
He clenched his fists, forcing the tension down, fighting the pull that threatened to undo him. He needed control—he needed to hold the line before everything slipped.
Melina’s quiet nod was all the answer he needed. "About my ratings," she said softly, breaking the silence.
He smirked, the tension easing just enough. "I’ll rate you fair enough."
She raised an eyebrow, playful despite the tension. "Are you sure?"
He gave a lazy shrug. "Yeah, no problem."
The small exchange was enough to ease the thick air between them. But inside, neither of them could shake the pull of what had just passed—the unsaid, the almost-confessed.
Craig gripped the steering wheel tighter, his jaw clenched. Every glance in the rearview mirror reminded him of how close they had been, how dangerously close. He wanted to reach over, to tell her to stay—just a little longer—but the fear of what it would mean held him back. If he let himself go, if he showed her how much she already owned his heart, the fallout would be unstoppable.
Beside him, Merlina stared out the window, her mind a battlefield of confusion and longing. The warmth of his touch still lingered on her skin, the intensity of his gaze burning behind her eyes. Part of her wanted to run back inside and throw herself into that dangerous fire. Another part wanted to protect herself from the mess she knew this would become.