Rebekah’s POV
The darkness didn't just fall; it felt like it slammed into the room, heavy and suffocating. One second I was lost in the heat of Derek’s mouth, my hands tangled in his hair, and the next, the world was a black void.
The silence that followed was even worse. It was the kind of silence that had teeth.
"Derek?" I whispered. My voice sounded small, stripped of the CEO armor I’d worn all day.
"Don't move."
His voice was a low vibration in the dark, barely a breath. I felt the shift in the air as he moved away from me. The warmth of his body left my side, replaced by the biting chill of the foyer. My hands reached out blindly, grabbing at nothing until I felt the rough fabric of his shirt again. I gripped it like a lifeline.
"Stay behind me," he commanded.
I heard the faint
