Finding Claude (Wintermoon Shorts #3)

by Tessa Stone

Finally, I pull back just enough to look at her. “I’ll find a way to stay close. There’s a university near the Wintermoon Lands. I’ll get a job there, keep myself busy while I wait to see you again. But I can’t live in Wintermoon, Claudia. Not yet.” Her shoulders sink, and her scent shifts—disappointment tinged with the faintest edge of stubbornness. She doesn’t argue again, but that look in her eyes tells me she’s not done with this fight. Not by a long shot. And, god help me, I think she might actually find a way. “Let me hold you a little longer. Then I’ll go home,” she murmurs, voice soft and pleading. “But promise me, Tyrion. Stay close, so I can see you when I have the time?” I nod, my hand tightening on hers. “You own me now, Claudia,” I say, my voice low but steady. “I’ll stay close. Always.” She nuzzles into me, and I can feel her breath against my chest. “I love it when you call me Claudia,” she whispers. “Everyone calls me Claude. It’s just grown on me over the years. But when you say my full name, my namesake, it feels… different. It makes me feel like I matter.” I lift her face gently, cradling it in my hand so her eyes meet mine. The firelight reflects in them, and they remind me of the stars I’ve clung to my entire life. “You do matter. You’re special, Claudia. I’ve seen the stars in your eyes since the moment I met you, the hope I never let go of. The hope that got me here.” Her breath catches, and I lean in slowly, giving her every chance to pull away. She...