His silver eyes darkened as he studied me, and I caught something almost predatory in the way he watched my chest rise and fall in sharp, uneven breaths. When he saw me swallow hard, fighting for composure, a smile ghosted across his lips—not kind, but satisfied, like he'd discovered something precious.

My eyes fluttered shut for just a heartbeat, overwhelmed by the pull of him, the way the air itself seemed to thicken around us.

"As I thought," his voice came soft as silk, threading through ...