CHAPTER 17
Utterly Paralyzed
Self-deception was a luxury Rory could not afford; to deny that he terrified her would be a blatant lie. He was an absolute mountain of a man—muscular, imposing, and towering over her with a physical presence that seemed to swallow the very light in the room.
Even with his hands occupied—one crushing the nape of her neck and the other pinning her wrist—she remained utterly paralyzed. Though her other hand was free to strike or claw, she found herself completely frozen, her muscles locked by the sheer, overwhelming gravity of his proximity.
His eyes, deeper and more bottomless than the obsidian they resembled, began a slow, agonizing trek across her face. He traced the fire in her eyes, the line of her nose, and lingered with a heavy, dangerous heat on her
