The soft flicker of candlelight cast long shadows in the room, wrapping the two of us in a cocoon of warmth and quiet. I could feel the pull between us, thickening the air with something neither of us had yet named. Caden leaned against the desk, his eyes never leaving mine as I tried to focus on the journal in my hands.
“You know,” he began, his voice low, just enough to make my skin tingle, “it’s dangerous, what you’re playing with.” He pushed off the desk slowly, his movements deliberate, calculated, and every inch of him felt too close. “Elara doesn’t just give out gifts like this for fun.”
I glanced up, meeting his gaze, feeling a knot form in my stomach as the tension between us grew. “I’m not a fool, Caden,” I muttered, but my words felt thin, weaker than I wanted them to sound. T
