Valentina's POV
The needle gleamed under the dim light like it had been forged for one purpose mine body. His fingers, steady and pale, hovered near my skin, and the air between us turned razor thin.
“Hold still,” Ryker said, his voice low, his eyes never leaving mine.
My heart pounded so loudly it drowned out every other sound. My mouth opened, but no words came. Just breath shallow, broken, terrified.
He stepped closer, so close I could smell the sharp tang of metal, the faint scent of his skin beneath the faintest whiff of smoke. His hand reached up, brushing a strand of hair from my face with surprising gentleness. The contrast startled me more than the needle.
“You won’t forget me,” he murmured, “even if you try.”
But before the needle could pierce my skin, his expression shifte
