Finding Claude (Wintermoon Shorts #3)

by Tessa Stone

Once they’re gone, the room is silent again. Just the sound of Tyrion’s steady breathing as he holds me like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “You remind me of something,” Tyrion murmurs after a moment, his voice soft but full of meaning. I tilt my head slightly, trying to focus on his words through the dizziness and the strange heat in my chest. “Something like the Andarion Drift,” he says, his tone almost reverent. “A galaxy so far away that its existence feels like a rumor. Barely more than a whisper in the void. Beautiful. Unreachable. But unforgettable.” My eyes blink open fully, and I stare up at him, unsure if the lightheadedness is from nearly fainting—or if it’s from the way he’s looking at me. His voice is like honey, slow and rich, settling in my mind and making it hard to think straight. “What are you talking about?” I manage to croak; my voice unsteady and raw. His gaze doesn’t waver. He looks at me like I’m something he’s found after searching for a long, long time. “There’s something about you, Claude,” he murmurs again. “Beautiful, vast. Like a solar system I’ll never fully explore, no matter how much I try.” My breath hitches. His words hit me somewhere deep, waking something I wasn’t prepared for. Warmth spreads through my chest, lower even, distracting me further. I let out a nervous laugh, one that feels too shaky to pass for amused. “You’re… good with analogies,” I finally say, though my voice doesn’t hit the light tone I’d been aiming for. He...