The top button of his trousers undone.
Her breath caught as she took in the low rise of his waistband, the fingers that had been in the process of loosening the next button down, his muscled forearms. She lifted her gaze, drinking in the sculpted V of his lower abdomen, then his rib cage, marred with the puckered scar he’d earned at Centerpointe Rock. She studied his curving biceps, his wide shoulders, his silver hair that fell in tousled waves just above his collarbone.
Mother Goddess, this was not the frail, weak version of Teryn she’d expected. Sure, he was slightly leaner than he’d been before, but he didn’t look unwell at all.
He looked…good.
Really, really good.
Her eyes darted to his face and found his familiar green irises sparkling with mischief. A corner of his lips quirked at one corner. “What a pleasant surprise.”
3
Cora had no thoughts. None. Just shock and lust and…what had he just said? He’d spoken, but she’d been too distracted to hear.
“It’s a good thing you didn’t arrive a second later,” he said. “Unless…an eyeful is what you were going for.”
Her eyes dipped back down to the open top button of his trousers and she realized what he was referring to. Had she invaded his room any later…
Her cheeks blazed. What the hell had she been thinking? What had she nearly walked in on? Sure, he could have been undressing for bed, but he also could have been preparing to do…other things.
She clenched her teeth as if she could chew through her mortification. How had she not considered the myriad of situations she could have stumbled upon? She’d been expecting a tired, frail figure asleep on the bed, not a virile young man encased in muscle with a teasing smirk on his lips.
What an idiot she’d been. “I should go,” she muttered as she whirled abruptly on her heels?—
She stumbled as hands framed her shoulders and tugged her back a step. It took her a moment to realize what she’d almost collided with. Straight ahead was the closed bedroom door that she’d nearly slammed into in her haste to get away. Teryn had pulled her back just in time…and now held her against his chest, every inch of his bare torso pressed against her back. His skin was hot against the bare flesh at the nape of her neck—the only exposed skin that touched his.
His voice rumbled low in her ear, his breath warming its shell. “Is that any way to greet your fiancé?”
Her heart slammed against her ribs and she was certain he could feel its rhythm as he held her close from behind. She opened her mouth but she was too dumbfounded to conjure anything like a clever retort. Oranyretort.
“Or…” He drew out the word as he took a step back, breaking their too-warm contact, and gently turned her to face him. With his hands still on her shoulders—his hold looser now—he asked, “Are you here to break things off with me? Did you have me travel all the way here just to tell me you’ve changed your mind about us?”
“No,” she managed to blurt out. His lips curled in that devious way again and she realized he was teasing. She let herself smile then, let herself focus on all that was familiar about him. His grin, his emerald eyes, his sharp cheekbones. And his voice. The voice she’d yearned to hear every day for the last several months. She blew out a breath, her nerves unraveling.
But her calm was short-lived, for in the next moment, he closed the distance he’d created and moved his hand from her shoulder to her cheek. Her heart racketed once more, and her eyes dipped to his mouth. Was he going to kiss her? She’d been waiting for this moment for so long, yet none of her fantasies had gone like this. She averted her gaze to his neck, taking in the circular scars on both sides of his throat, twins to her own, caused by the magic-suppressing collar they’d both briefly worn. Her eyes flashed back to his, but she couldn’t meet his gaze. So instead, she dragged her attention further down. But that only brought her to…
Muscles.
Naked skin.
And…Mother Goddess, why did he look so good?
Her cheeks burned hot as she wrenched her eyes back to his face and found a furrow between his brows.
Slowly, he let his hand slide from her cheek and stepped back again. “What’s wrong? Am I making you uncomfortable?” There was no jest in his tone this time, only genuine concern.
That made her heart sink. Squeezing her eyes shut, she delivered an internal scolding.Get ahold of yourself, Cora!
As she opened her eyes, she forced herself to hold his gaze without blushing. Or…tried to. “No,” she said, voice level. “I just didn’t expect you to be so…so…”
Healthy.
Awake.
Handsome.
He arched a teasing brow. “So…?”
