burned against the deli

yanked he

s fingers slide off her skin,

ack. Her heart was hammering

Eleonore stammere

d in the back of his throat. It

e was a deep rumble that vibrated in the quiet

yebrows pulled togeth

hing shallow. "No. I was loo

y dragged down her body, taking in t

ip curled i

w, deliberate

ucked the oxygen out of

stepped b

cold, hard stone of the gard

His face was i

he demanded. The pressure

lower lip. The metallic tast

r voice tight. "I am a freelan

row. He looked at

he unlit cedar match against th

k. C

gly. "You want my attention? You h

tion crashed over Ele

a corner. She hated the ar

. Her hand shot out toward

f a white rose. She snapped it off,

he flower directly into the breast

by the physical contact. He looked down a

ogy for bumping into y

under his a

ked frantically against the stone pa

fore she could pull it open, a loud

perfectly sti

on in his chest slowly morphed i

g fingers brushed against t

he faint warmth from

match. He struck it h

, illuminating the sharp, p

ass doors behind

he whispered