. The only sensation was a cool pressure on her forehead

her heavy e

spital. It was Axel's penthouse bedroom, a

h the gray New York sky. The room was dim, lit only by a singl

as t

s shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his tie was gone,

like lead. Her throat was so dry it felt like she

le and was at her bedside in an instant. H

voice rough. The tense line of his ja

touch. "Why am I here?" she

d, replaced by a familiar, icy mask. "If I hadn't brought you here, you

ruggled to get out of bed. "Where

ulders and pushed her back against the pillows. "Do y

on her face. His eyes were a storm of emotions, but ben

pered, her voice a cruel taunt. "When I was unconscious? Did you hea

ent

ous, clinging to his shirt, her words a broken, fevered plea. "Axel, it h

perceptive gaze. He went to a heated serving cart

a spoon into the liquid. He even blew on it, a clums

at

ghtly sealed, staring

rt is under strain," he said, his voice tight wi

s still and dead as a frozen lake. "I

ought out Caleb's debt," he stated, as if discussing the weat

nly a vast, empty sorrow. It was ju

said, each word precise and cold, "than be s

rk. He slammed the porcelain bowl down on the ni

either side of her body, his eyes blazing with

ut, sweeping the bowl off the nightstand.

ce, broken only by the ticking

ook a long, slow breath, visibly forcing d

dn't

pressed a button on the intercom by the bed. "The butler will be u

o her, her body tense, her low

is voice like ice. "They will bring a hundred more. You w