hammering. The words he had whispered before she

ce of you that isn't yours

he heat that lingered in the air long after he left the room. She hugged the blanket tighter around h

errifying: a faint click at the bedroom door.

o disappear under the bed. Her fingers clawed at the sheet, heart

felt it befor

re

irtless. Water clung to his dark hair and bare chest, droplets trickling down the sharp pla

the cold realization that she was unprotected, t

ck. A drop of water fell from his hair onto the lace at her shoulder. Goosebumps er

he heat of him consuming every ounce of air she drew. Her body betrayed h

well of her shoulders, lingering over the delicate lace that barely covered her skin. Every detail

, voice low, teasing. "Do y

ered, voice catc

face to meet his gaze. His lips hovered just above hers. "And you will

her tremble in a way she hated herself for. Every nerve in her body screamed fo

sing the skin through the thin lace. She gasped softly, drawi

along her skin. "Desire and fear. They're not so different. An

ime. Someone - the intruder - had pushed against the lock again. Ele

the chaos outside. "Do not move," he warned, voice low and lethal. His wet

ating heat, the teasing closeness, left her frozen, both terrified and captivated. She w

pressed to the bed. His body shielded her in the dim light, and every instinct s

d at the edge of the doorframe, and her stomach dro

nto the hall. Elena's chest rose and fell rapidly, heat and fear coiling through her. She pressed her hands against the b

sire, from the closeness they had shared just moments before, from the teasing warmth that still

en, si

safe. Just a pause,

hiver despite the cold. Her mind raced - part panic, part yearning. Every muscle ached fo

he wa

the doorway, water still clinging to his chest, hair damp a

His hand brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, linger

y betrayed her, goosebumps crawling along her sk

ering dangerously close. "And you're afraid.

gasped, her stomach twisting. She wanted him to stop. She wanted him to leave. And

he door. Lorenzo's eyes snapped to it, dark and lethal. In a

against her back, hair brushing her neck. Every drop of water,

ely brushing her ear. "And no one tou

rom fear, part from desire. "Yes

he door. Har

enzo's hand tightened at her waist, holding her sti

Sleep, if you can," he whispered. "Tomorrow, I will remind you - fully - wha

. Every drop of water from his hair, every heated brush of breath against her skin, every shiver still l

nd every pulse pounding, that she was caught between terro

eavier, deliberate, echo

the night had