Everything stopped the second his lips brushed the gauze on her neck.
He couldn’t see the wound underneath, didn’t know how bad it was—but the sight of that white bandage hit him like a punch.
Violet gasped, dazed by the sudden pause.
Julian’s eyes were fixed on her throat. She instinctively raised a hand, covering the gauze. “I’m fine,” she whispered.
His gaze lifted to her face. Their eyes met—and in the dim light, she could finally see it. His eyes were still dark with desire, but there was pain there too, conflict, like he was fighting himself just to breathe.
His hands were braced on either side of her face, their noses almost touching. His Adam’s apple moved hard, again and again.
And that’s when she realized—something was wrong with him.
Violet’s fingers flinched away from hi
