Ethan’s POV
I stayed rooted to the same spot for a while, watching the trail where Elle had walked off, her soft footsteps fading away into silence. The wind moved through the trees like a whisper, brushing against my bare skin, but it didn’t cool the heat burning under my chest. I felt… restless. Torn. Guilty.
I had pushed her away.
On purpose.
And it still didn’t feel like enough.
Because even after I warned her. Even after I held her neck and caged her against the counter, she hadn’t run. She hadn’t screamed. She hadn’t cried. No… instead, she’d looked at me like I was something she wanted. Like I wasn’t a monster at all.
She should’ve feared me.
But she didn’t.
And that was the problem.
Her soft little gasp when I got too close. The way her breath caught when my hand touched h
