Noah brushed his fingertips across my cheek, his touch soft, his eyes steady.

“Stay here,” he murmured. “I’ll handle this. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a moment.”

Then he slipped toward the door. My breath caught. The room suddenly felt smaller, suffocating, every second stretching longer than the last. The door opened… closed again… and I was left in the darkness, my heart pounding as I waited for whatever came next.

I pressed back against the headboard, knees pulled ...