Chapter 56

Valerie

It wasn’t advice. It was a warning.

His hands were still on my waist, squeezing. His fingers pressing into the fabric of my cloak and biting into my sides. His head was close to mine, his hot, anguished breathes warm against my hair.

“Don’t move,” he said again, his voice grating. There was an edge of something painful to it. Something heady and starved. His breath shallowed, his body tense as he leaned against me. “For your own good. Stay still.”

Something had happened to him in the time since we’d been here. Or, maybe he’d been like this a while, and simply hadn’t had a chance to address the issue. His voice was brimming with intoxication, his breath like fire on the cartilage of my ear.

I felt his nose nestle against the side of my head, heard him breathe in sharply. He was taking in my scent, like a snake, hungry for prey. I froze where I was, my heart thundering in my chest, my hands stiff at my sides. I didn’t feel scared, though. Just…embarrassed. And strangely, hot.

It