Desperation by Becca Ryden

Author:Becca Ryden [Ryden, Becca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Charlotte

My back was hot. It was the first thing I noticed when I stirred from sleep. Groggily I shifted, throwing the blanket off and rolling onto my back. Warm light had me squinting and blinking blearily into the blazing glow of an open fireplace. The fire in the hearth wasn’t exactly roaring, but the flames were hot and moved like a bodily thing. I stared at them as my eyes adjusted, thoughtlessly enjoying the way the radiating heat sank into my skin.

A soft touch brushed my arm. It seemed like the phantom caress of a beckoning dream until it brushed the corner of my jaw. I blinked slowly as that soft caress slid along the curve of my cheek to my chin, coaxing my head to turn.

Hunter’s hazel eyes glowed with golden highlights from the firelight. An expression that I couldn’t quite read had his face tight and — was that worry in his eyes? No, I was imagining it. I mean, his hair was so red in the fire’s light. It was as if the auburn highlights had come to life, cascading warmth around his features. He seemed so warm and alive. It was at odds with the man I’d known for a day. That man was professional and cold, only showing he felt something besides seriousness when humor glinted in his eyes. He wasn’t that person right now. To my delusional eyes, he was something more.

“Do you still trust me?” he asked in a low, gravelly voice.

I blinked slowly, working to recall his words. They seemed fuzzy and out of focus, and I had to wonder…

“Dream?” I asked in the barest of whispers. My throat burned with the use, making me swallow several times to clear it.

His head shook. “No, it was not.”

I frowned and let my gaze drift to the side, my mind traveling back. His arms had been around me, under me, carrying me through the sky. It had felt so nice to bask in his power. It had been gentle and had somehow reminded me of what it felt like to be alive again. It felt as though I had been on mute for as long as I could remember, and for just a moment he had exposed me to the most glorious symphony of sensations.

“Am I—” My words trailed off, my thoughts tangling in my head. What was I trying to say?

“Safe,” he murmured. He closed the distance between us and brushed his nose against mine. “You are safe, I promise.”

I nodded, my eyes sliding closed with relief. My head eased to the side, my muscles too weak to hold it up. His hand slid under my neck and his other slid around my lower thigh. He moved me, shifting me closer to his body until I was cuddled against him. He was lying beside me, resting on his side and elbow so he could loom over me. Once I settled where he wanted me, his hand trailed up my thigh. I felt

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