Long seconds passed as I slowly came back to myself. My legs widened a fraction as my hand fell to the bed.
“I. Want. More.” I breathed. I needed it to behimtouching me. I tried to pull at his arms to drag him on top of me…
“Shit,” he swore, his breathing was ragged. He jumped up from the floor so fast it looked unnatural.
I had no idea what was wrong.
His dark brown curls were wholly black. I watched a bead of sweat drip down his temple as he swiped his hand across his face, and I realized he was shaking more than me.
“Don’t move.” He ground out and this time I listened, not that I even trusted myself to stand right now.
He turned away from me and walked over to a dresser and started rummaging through the top drawer. I sat up onto my elbows to watch him and realized we weren’t in my room like I originally thought.
It looked similar, maybe slightly larger. There were more windows, all open and facing the Drakin Mountains.
“Drink this,” Hael said, refocusing my attention back to him as he held out a glass. It was clear. No bubbles. No pink fluid. And I realized I was thirsty. My throat was so dry it felt like I had swallowed sand.
I took a long sip, nearly finishing it in one gulp before drowsiness immediately took over. “What did you give me?” I slurred as I pulled the glass away from my mouth, but it was too late. My vision blurred. My breathing turned shallow as my heartbeat was finally slowing.
“You can sleep here. Everything will pass when you wake up.”
I blinked again, trying to keep my eyes open. Hael was still shirtless, but he had grabbed another pair of pants and pulled them on before my vision went black.
“Just sleep, Nollie.”
I felt my body being lifted before my head found a pillow and a blanket was pulled to my chest.
The last thing I remembered was Hael cursing as he walked toward the door.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aphrodisiac
MAGNOLIA
Iwoke up to a pounding headache and my body feeling like it was dropped from the Senith.
The blind was closed, and small glimpses of the suns were slowly sweeping through the cracks, letting me know it was almost morning.
Morning.
Which meant the ball was over?—
I shot up in bed as images from last night came crashing back to me. I was touching myself and screaming Hael’s name, begging him to replace my fingers…
It was just a dream.
Sitting up, I ripped the covers off. A loose shirt clung over my body that could have passed as a dress. It was soft and it smelled like—leather and vetiver.
I knew that scent. It engulfed me last night. I could still feel the butterflies swarm in my stomach as I… I shook my head, not wanting to go there.
I looked around, recognizing my room, even though I swore last night I was in a different one.
I swallowed.
Suns, I wished it was a dream. But I couldn’t remember everything that happened, only fragmented images that were enough to drown me.
I remembered him tucking me into bed. He brushed strands of my hair away from my face, tucking pieces behind my ears as he kept repeating how sorry he was.
