Rose’s POV
I climbed the stairs, my breath still uneven, my thoughts tangled between the past and the present. Jack’s kiss was still burning through me, and I hated how badly I had wanted to sink into it. It wasn’t just the heat of his lips or the way his hand had lingered on my cheek—it was the flood of emotions that came with it. The longing, the regret, the hunger for something I couldn’t allow myself to have.
It was too easy. Too dangerous.
Margaret was coming for Ellie. Angelo was lurking, watching, waiting. Jack and I weren’t in a place where we could afford distractions—especially not ones that could break us all over again. Every moment we spent looking at each other like this, every second we let ourselves feel what we’d been running from, was another c***k in the fragile armor
