(Ruby's POV)
The master suite was dark when we walked in.
Nicholas didn't turn on the lights. He just stood at the window, looking out at the night. The storm had passed, but the clouds were still thick, blocking the moon. The sea was a black void below the cliffs.
I watched him for a moment. The way his shoulders slumped. The way his hands hung loose at his sides. He looked like a man who had been carrying a weight for so long that he had forgotten what it felt like to be free of it.
"Nicholas."
He turned. His face was shadowed, unreadable.
"Come here," I said.
He crossed the room slowly, like he was wading through deep water. When he reached me, he didn't speak. He just stood there, waiting.
I reached up and unbuttoned his jacket. He didn't move. I pushed the jacket off his shoulders, and it fell to the floor. Then I started on his shirt.
"Ruby—"
"Shh."
