Chloe hadn’t slept much.

Valerius’s strange words from the night before… “Your desire, your taste is perfection unlike anyone else” kept playing over and over in her mind. It haunted her, crept under her skin like a whisper she couldn’t unhear. Was it just a sexual compliment? Or did he mean something more? Something darker?

The room was still. Silent.

For the first time she could remember, she’d slept in his house. The sheets still held his scent, rich, timeless, and ...