Her mouth curved a fraction, but otherwise, she didn't move. She did not need words or actions to move people.
She just needed to look at them.
He moved off the door and into the space, careful with his steps because the softness here deserved it.
The candles painted his knuckles gold. The nest swallowed his shadow. He stopped at the edge of the bed and let the distance sit between them until the request in his chest found the shape it wanted.
He let the smile drop a notch so the weight of the moment could be seen clearly.
"I need you to take me out hunting."
The pup lifted its head at the tone, blinked once like a child woken too early, and then dropped its chin back to the blanket when Sera's fingers drifted along its back. The room held still the way a field holds still when a hawk settles its wings.
He did not speak again. He did not fill the silence with jokes or old tricks or the kind of charm that makes men underestimate you.
