"I can't seem to keep myself from thinking about you."
Pulling Cassia closer, he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing lightly as he leaned forward. The scent of whiskey lingered on his breath, warm and sharp, mixing with the faint smoke drifting in from the dying fireplace.
"What are you doing, sir…" she said, trying to escape his hold. "Let me go."
Fighting free, she stumbled a half step before catching herself. Regaining her composure, she looked up.
Her eyes met his. Her heart picked up its tempo, beating so loudly she could feel it in her core. A strange sense of safety and desire flooded over her, unwelcome but impossible to ignore.
"Where were you all night?" Cassia asked, brushing her dress down so it fit snugly again. "I looked all night. After the first song, you were gone."
"I had some… very important business to take care of," Jeric said, closing the door behind them. The lock clicked sharply, the room quiet enough now that the last of the guests could be heard somewhere deeper in the palace. Faint music still carried through the walls, distant and thin. "It's a shame I missed you in that dress all evening."
"Did you and your men kill someone?" she asked quickly, a soft quiver in her tone. "I heard some rumors."
Jeric moved forward in an instant, grabbing her by the collar. Their faces nearly touched.
"Do not speak of death so lightly," he said. "I am a gracious duke. I will not be slandered in my own kingdom."
Cassia's grip tightened against his chest as her breathing caught.
"Wait..."
The word came out softer than she intended, barely more than a breath between them.
Jeric's hold shifted, one hand sliding higher along her back as though anchoring her in place rather than restraining her.
His gaze lowered, not to her face, but to where the mark rested just beneath her collar. His signature, branded into her skin.
Her body reacted before her mind could catch up, leaning into the space between them instead of pulling away. The warmth of him pressed closer, steady and unyielding, and for a moment, the confusion inside her dulled into something simpler. Something easier.
His hand lifted, fingers brushing lightly along her jaw, guiding her face upward.
She didn't stop him. Not thinking to do so.
Her breath caught, slow enough to feel every second of it, every inch of space disappearing until there was nothing left to question.
The candlelight flickered across his face. Gold along the sharp line of his cheek. Shadow beneath his eyes. He looked less like a ruler and more like a man who had wanted something all evening and had finally reached for it.
Just before their lips met, Cassia turned her head.
The movement was small. Barely enough to break the moment.
Silence settled between them.
"…I should go." Pulling herself away from the duke, she headed toward the door, stopping just before the exit. "See you tomorrow?"
Jeric nodded in silent agreement and watched her leave, shaken by the entire experience.
Once she made her way to her room, she locked the door behind her. The click echoed louder than it should have in the stillness.
Her legs gave out a second later.
Cassia slid down against the wood, breath uneven, one hand pressing hard against her chest as if it might steady the rhythm there. It didn't. If anything, it made her more aware of it, how fast, how heavy, how alive it felt.
"What… was that…"
The words barely formed.
Her other hand lifted without thinking, fingers brushing along her collar where his mark rested. The skin there felt warmer than it should have, sensitive in a way she didn't understand. The memory of his gaze lingered, not on her face. There. Fixed on the place where his name had settled into her.
Cassia pulled her hand back like she'd been burned, but the feeling didn't fade. It lingered, spreading, settling low and unfamiliar, making it harder to think straight.
"Who does he think he is…"
The protest came weaker this time, lacking its earlier bite.
She tilted her head back against the door, eyes slipping shut.
"…why couldn't I move…"
That was the part that stayed with her. Not the words. Not even the closeness. It was the way she had leaned in against her will and the way she hadn't wanted to stop deep down.
Her fingers curled slightly at her side, tension coiling through her before she forced a slow breath in, then out, trying to pull herself back together piece by piece.
"I should get some sleep," she murmured, though the thought felt distant, unreachable. Because every time she closed her eyes, she could still feel him there.
She crossed the room quickly, pulling at the ties of her dress as she moved, the fabric loosening just enough to breathe. By the time she reached the bed, she let herself fall onto it, the mattress dipping beneath her weight as she stared up at the ceiling above.
The room was dark except for the low orange spill from the hearth, just enough light to catch the carved bedposts and the crumpled edge of her gown.
Her heart still hadn't settled. It refused to.
"Why am I feeling this way…" she whispered, her voice barely there. "I can't get Jeric out of my head."
She shifted against the sheets, turning slightly onto her side, her body curling inward as if that might quiet whatever had taken hold of her.
It didn't. The feeling stayed.
Moving one leg free, she slid her hand down to her panties and removed them, tossing them aside in the heat of the moment. Running her fingers along her inner thigh sent jolts of sensation through her body.
Moving lower, the warmth there made her breath hot, panting from the feeling. The touch sent a sharp pulse through her, enough to draw a faint moan from her lips before she suddenly stopped, becoming aware of what she was doing.
Her hand froze.
For one awful second, all she could think about was him.
The look in his eyes.
The heat in his voice.
The way her body had answered before her mind ever had the chance.
Cassia pulled her hand back with haste, threw the blanket aside, and headed toward the washroom.
"This is stupid… a hot bath should help."
The heat hit her skin, steam rising as the water poured over her shoulders. A wave of calm followed, brief and fragile, before guilt settled in behind it.
Cassia stood there longer than she meant to, one hand braced against the wall, letting the warmth wash over her. It helped, just enough to dull the edge.
But it didn't erase it.
Her hand drifted toward the mark beneath her collarbone. She scrubbed at the signature. Hard. Again. And again. The skin reddened. Then broke.
She didn't stop until the pain from it cut through everything else.
Only then did she pull her hand back.
Cassia forced her arm down and turned under the stream, letting the water run over her face.
"This is just ridiculous…" she muttered. "It's not that easy." "What the fuck am I doing?"
The words sounded weak, even to her.
When she stepped out, the room had cooled enough to make her shiver. She dried off quickly, movements sharper now, more deliberate, like she could force herself back into control if she just moved with enough purpose.
She dragged a clean night-gown over her head, climbed back into bed, and pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Then she shut her eyes.
It didn't help.
Because the moment the dark settled in, she could still feel him there.
Watching her.