🗝️Detective Ryker Viltarin must uncover dark secrets before he loses not only his heart but also his life.🗝️
You're on your own, far from home
The wind is blowing in the top of the pines
A gloomy sky where the sun never shines
Deep...
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At that moment, the dark shadows in his irises seemed to clear a little, and Eve even thought she recognized the hint of a tiny smile on his lips.
"Thank you," his voice murmured softly and so low that she hardly recognized it. It was filled with countless feelings and thoughts, but they were reserved for him alone.
Eve expected him to let go of her and the cool distance between them to spill over again. But Ray did nothing of the sort. Instead, he didn't let her go, and with every heartbeat that dragged out the moment, the air between them seemed to grow heavier. It felt like the crackle in the air before an approaching storm.
Ray's gaze dropped lower from her eyes, and her pulse quickened as her thoughts were simply wiped away.
The young mother felt a hand move higher up her back. Suddenly, she became aware of every touch, every inch that her body touched his. Inevitably, a bitter taste of shame rose inside her. Ray was trained, his body defined... But her? No matter how many times Riona lovingly described her as a sweet cinnamon roll, it didn't change the fact that she had more curves than needed. More than most men liked or found beautiful. Let alone - and this was perhaps the biggest problem - herself.
'You could do a little more exercise,' the dark voice of her past rang in her head, and her throat tightened as if there was a snake around it, slowly squeezing. How did sometimes words that hurt you and left wounds in your self-confidence and self-esteem weigh so much heavier than those that wanted to build you up?
"I'd love to," she breathed, but it sounded thin.
Something inside her wanted to back away, whimpering, before she might have to recognize disgust in his eyes. She wanted to be the one who sought the distance before he pushed her away, and it only ended up hurting more.
But instead, his fingers slid over her waist, the shape of her body, without shyness, hesitation, or restraint. Just gently groping, it sent goose bumps over her body with a quivering breath. Something inside her wanted to meet him. Another part wanted to jump away. She felt like a hare in front of a hunter, frozen and undecided whether the moment to pounce had come or passed.
