They stood there in the settled quiet, the storm’s distant rumble almost peaceful now. As if by unspoken agreement, they both began to turn back toward the door as…

Thunder cracked directly above them, the sky splitting open.

Juniper stumbled backward, her foot catching on the threshold… or maybe the other one, the line they kept drawing and redrawing between them. Daniel’s hand shot out, catching her hip, steadying her with a sureness that made her breath stop.

His hand pulled away slowly, but his gaze didn’t. He held her there with just his eyes as he set her back on solid ground.

The thunder cracked again somewhere in the distance, but neither of them flinched. The lightning painted them in purple and orange, and she realized they were still looking at each other, closer now than they’d been all night. Close enough that she could feel the rise and fall of his breathing.

Oh.

Even worse then…

The air crackled with a tension that had nothing to do with the storm, and for a heartbeat, she wondered what might happen if she just let herself fall into whatever was happening…

“Let me get you inside,” he said quietly, something unreadable in his voice… like he was holding to that agreement they’d made without words.