CHAPTER SEVEN
MELINDA
"Thank you," I managed to say, my voice coming out breathier than I intended.
For a moment, neither of us moved. His gaze dropped to my lips, then back to my eyes. Something flickered in his expression, there and gone too quickly for me to identify. His thumbs brushed against my sides, a gesture so small it might have been unconscious, but it sent heat racing through my body.
I should pull away. Every survival instinct I had screamed that I was too close to a predator, that this proximity was dangerous. But my body refused to obey. I stood frozen in his arms, caught between fear and something else I didn't want to examine too closely.
"You need to watch where you're going," Kieran said finally, his voice lower than before. "These grounds can be treacherous if you
