Sasha’s Pov
The scent of scorched cotton and salve filled my lungs before my eyes opened. My sheets were ruined, frayed, charred at the edges, and the fabric was brittle with ash. Smoke hung in the air like the ghost of something that shouldn't have happened. My hands pulsed with a strange, radiant heat beneath the bandages, skin prickling with awareness.
Alex.
My stomach twisted. I sat up too fast. The world tilted, a wave of nausea crashing over me, but I fought it down. My hands trembled in my lap. The gauze was wrapped with precise care, the faint glow of healing salve still seeping through the fibers. He had done this. He had seen me, touched me while I slept. My heart galloped behind my ribs.
Did he notice?
The curve of my waist? The delicate shape of my collarbone? The things I
