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Fire spiked my stomach as his lips curved into a wry smile. Sebastien raised his hand to my neck, smearing it with crimson before he leaned in again. ‘You are a wicked thing, Ria Lucroy,’ he said against my lips.

The sound of my name on his tongue was like a branding iron, so hot and sharp I knew it would never sound the same again. I grinned. His hands slid into my hair, tilting my head back to kiss my open mouth with a ferocity I’d only ever witnessed in battle.

I arched into him, my legs tightening around his waist. I’d seen his body – a tapestry of blood and magic and scars. The beauty of it couldn’t compare with how good it felt, pressed against my own, his shadows filling the air as I inhaled.

My whole body softened into him. Relief. Amid monsters and curses and betrayal, it was this I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about all day.

Sebastien pulled back from the desk, carrying me with him over to the bed. A flash of white crossed my vision as he tossed his shirt to the floor before the heat of his body closed around me again. I dragged my fingernails down his powerful biceps, earning a growl that rumbled through me like wildfire.

‘You’ll be the death of me,’ I breathed. A thousand times over.

‘Aye, I know,’ he replied, lips never leaving mine.

A twist of flames speared through me as his mouth moved to the sensitive skin below my ear, teeth dragging over my pulse. My head rolled back, eyes sliding open – and suddenly I wished they hadn’t.

As I gazed up at the roses wreathed through the bed’s canopy, the leaves shifted. A thicket of verdant eyes blinked open, glaring down at me. They were cold, bright, sending a river of shame rushing through me, extinguishing the heat of Sebastien’s touch. If my family could see me now . . .

I tensed and he glanced down at me, eyes clouding over. ‘What’s wrong?’

I wormed out from beneath him, cheeks blistering. ‘I didn’t come here to warm your bed,’ I snapped, scrambling to my feet. Liar.

Laughter gleamed in Sebastien’s eyes. ‘If I wanted a warm bed, there are easier ways than having you bleed all over it.’

I glanced at my back in the mirror, seeing the rills of blood that trickled beneath my nightdress. It served me right, I thought, panic bubbling in my throat.

‘Relax,’ he said. ‘I can help.’

‘How?’ I sounded shrill, even to my own ears, uncertainty seeping into my buzzing veins. There was a lot of blood.

The dark sea of his voice was calm, edged with irritation. ‘Lie down.’

I didn’t move.

Sebastien gestured to the sheets with a sigh. ‘Just let me look.’

Hesitantly, I crawled back on to the bed and sat cross-legged in front of him. When did I start believing him capable of fixing anything? I wondered, terrified by the thought.

I tensed as the bed sank and his knees settled on either side of me.

‘Lift your arms,’ he murmured.

I complied, wincing at the ache in my shoulder blade. His hands skimmed up my sides, gathering the material of my shift and slipping it over my head. I pulled my hair over my shoulders to cover my chest, unsettled by how easy it felt to be so exposed in front of him.

As if he’s ever wrought anything more than ruin, I thought ruefully – but his hands said otherwise. They were impossibly gentle as they skated over my shoulder, reminding me of the way he’d soothed the tremors from my fingers. His words lived inside me still. Killing a monster doesn’t make you one. Yet he’d still been there, quick to steal the creature’s life before I could. Why would a man who felt nothing do what he’d done for me? How could a man without a heart—

The mattress moved again and Sebastien lay down, winding a hand around my waist to pull me with him, his bare chest firm against my back.

‘What are you—?’

‘Just go to sleep.’

Heat clung to me, the air still buzzing with something hot, alive. The throbbing in my shoulder faded with every breath I took in his arms.

What am I doing?

I was too tired to wonder for long. I settled my head between the broad planes of his chest, my hair spilling dark and silken across his torso. As we fell through the haze of night, I listened. The world was silent, my breathing soft as I waited for the sound of a heartbeat murmuring beneath me.

I listened, yet . . . the silence echoed on.