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He let out a noise somewhere between a groan and a sigh. “You make me regret my decision every day.”
“Liar,” I whispered, realizing I’d leaned forward.
His hot breath tickled my cheeks, my lips. My pounding heart seemed to stop beating entirely, as if eagerly waiting for his reaction.
His eyes once again fell to my lips. “Some lies should be believed,” he said cryptically. His nostrils flared as he pushed back and to his feet. “And some rules should be followed as well.”
Jude glanced around the library as if remembering where we were. As if rememberingwhohe was there with.
“But you really shouldn’t be in here, Kiara.” His tone turned grave once more, the spell broken. I silently mourned its loss.
“Yes, sir.” I gave a mock salute. “Thank you for—” My head tilted to a still unconscious Adam, who was a heap of muscle in the corner.
“I don’t take that kind of behavior lightly, recruit.”
“Good. He’s an honorless cretin.”
Jude nodded as though he understood.
His silence prompted me to rise on my trembling limbs, my hands resting on the shelves behind me. I felt like I would fall over if not for the support.
“I’d try to get some rest,” he whispered. “Tomorrow, you’re training with me.”
It sounded like a threat.
I met his mismatched eyes as I said, “Goodnight, Jude.” His glare had me pausing, holding back a curse at my familiarity. “I mean, Commander Maddox,” I corrected, and he nodded in approval.
I’d started to walk away when his broad hand wrapped around my wrist, stilling me. His calloused fingers touched the sensitive skin under the band of my glove, sending delicious heat shooting up and down the length of my arm. I lifted my chin, peering at him from beneath my lashes.
Hells, the way he stared right into my soul—
“Oh, and recruit?”
My roaring heartbeat muffled his voice. “Y-yes?”
Jude reached behind him, his eyes never once leaving mine. They pulled me in and demanded my devotion. It was like staring at the moon, at the endless sky, feeling nothing but possibilities and the promise of adventure.
A heavy tome pressed into my side, forcing me to lower my head, to break away from that penetrating stare that had my toes curling in my boots.
The book I’d been reading.
“Don’t let anyone know you have that,” he said, whisper-soft, his voice gravelly. His focus fell to where he grasped my wrist. Torturously, he peeled one finger away at a time, watching as he released me. A muscle in his jaw feathered.
“Thank you,” I murmured, grateful I could form a coherent word at all. He’d gotten so close to my scars, and yet… I hadn’t recoiled, hadn’t shoved him away. I’d not even allowed Liam to get so close.
Jude’s stare lingered on me for a moment longer, a moment where I could read the indecision in his eyes. Or the disbelief in them.
Tucking my new treasure against my chest, I quickly said, “Goodnight, commander,” before racing off on unsteady feet toward the dorms.
I was out of breath by the time I slipped the tome beneath my pillow, right next to my jar of healing ointment. I lay back, crossing my arms below my head, nowhere near falling asleep.
I wasn’t sure what had transpired in the library.
But it had been… It had been better than the adrenaline that had come with the fight, and I wasn’t sure what terrified me more—
That I would soon journey into the Mist…or that I felt anything but hatred for Commander Jude Maddox.
Chapter Twelve
