ZARA:
What the hell just happened?
My heart wouldn't stop racing, it felt like it was trying to rip its way out of my chest.
Matteo.
The name kept ringing in my head like a mantra. His scent still clung to me, that face so much like Maximus but darker, dangerous, and intoxicating. I could feel it on my skin — literally as though he had laid claim to the air around me just by being here.
I stumbled back into the corridor, my hands trembling so badly that I dropped the basket of herbs. The crash echoed, sharp and hollow. I wanted to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth.
What just happened?
His eyes — they held so much intensity I felt like I was being burned alive. The way he called me darlin’, how it rolled so smoothly from his lips...
Goddess, what am I even thinking?
I rubbe
