Staggering away from the tree, I backed up. My system threatened to shut down, but I fought back. I fought my brokenmind like hell because I didn’t want to be torn to pieces by a jungle cat. “I’m not meant to be here!” My eyes flew between Lucien’s and Whisper’s.
What sort of name wasWhisper?
“I’ll admit I was greedy at the thought of a fully funded spa weekend. I let consumerism get the better of me. I should’ve known it was too good to be true, but...I’m honestly not lying.” I continued to back up, the panther stalking my every move. “Me and a few other women are here by mistake. The rest of them, you’re right. There’s a bunch who want you dead, along with those who will happily do whatever you want if it means they end up impregnated but—”
“Enough,” he whispered, rubbing his temples as if in pain. “I haven’t heard so much chattering in decades.”
“Sorry, but...you’re not listening. And I should really be given the opportunity to prove my innocence before you kill me—”
“Quiet,” he hissed, stepping toward me in familiar black clothes. His coat was buttoned only at the waist, flaring out like an emperor’s cloak. “You’re sonoisy.”
The urge to apologise came again but I pressed my lips together and stayed silent.
Our conversation seemed to hover, wrapping around us in the flame-flickering dark.
Lowering his hands, he winced a little as our eyes met. Beneath his mask of rage and hate, cracks of agony fractured like lightning bolts. Sucking in a breath, his fingers strayed to his chest, lingering over his heart.
“Are you...okay?” The question fell from me, completely against my control.
He went fatally still. “What?”
Uh-oh.
Now what had I done? Was I not allowed to enquire about his health, or had I somehow hinted he was weak?
“I can see you’re in pain,” I forced myself to say. “I was just—”
“Looking for ways to kill me?”
“God, will you stop? How many times do I need to profess my innocence?” My own anger rose to meet his. “I told you. I’m not here to kill you—”
“Ah, yes.” He smiled. “Just like you’re not here to fuck me.”
That smile.
It took my breath away.
That one action transformed his handsome face from beautiful to devastating. A smile full of scorn and sarcasm but somehow aching with suffering.
It moved me.
Affectedme.
He stiffened.
Sucking in a breath, his fingers strayed from his heart to his cheek, rubbing self-consciously. “What are you doing? What are you looking at?”
If anyone ever asked for my story of what happened in Cinderkeep, I would tell them thatthatwas the moment that my entire life changed. A moment as quick as all the rest, yet powerful enough to change my heart and fate and future.
Forever.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “I mean...you do have blood on your cheek but that wasn’t what I was looking at.”
“What are you looking at then?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
No way would I tell him how drawn to him I was. How intrigued and afraid and...attracted.
