‘Thea?’
His voice was a whisper in the darkness. She held her breath before rolling away. Thea didn’t remember falling asleep in his arms. But now she was awake. He sat up, naked except for the sheet he pulled across his waist. She still wore her dress, the fabric crinkled and folded where it had been pushed down from her chest.
Without looking back, she slid her feet to the edge of the bed. In the dim light she fumbled, pulling on her stocking. It was a challenge with shaking fingers to slide them over her toes.
She bit her lip, grounded by the pain. By the taste of her own blood upon her tongue. Concentrating before sliding first one foot then the other into her slippers. She stood, her back to the Prince and pulled the corset up, into place. Fixing the ribbons upon her spine with a
