His body was warm and his breath was low and uneven against her neck, the quiet desperation in his voice when he asked her to stay.

She had sat there for long minutes, her heart pounding as if it didn’t belong to her, barely daring to move.

But then, in the stillness, as his breathing calmed, he whispered again.

“Vera… stay.”

Vera again? He thought she was Vera again? The last time he did, they made a horrible mistake and the last thing she wanted was for him to ...