Chapter 64
Ella
I clenched my fists, willing away the lingering sensation of his touch, the ghost of his lips still burning against mine. My breath came in uneven gasps, my mind a whirlwind of emotions I couldn’t afford to feel.
This was a mistake. A dangerous, reckless mistake.
I had spent years fortifying my walls, keeping everyone at arm’s length, ensuring that no one ever got close enough to see the cracks beneath my surface. But Nikolai? He was tearing through my defenses with alarming ease, slipping past my guard like he belonged there.
I can’t let this happen again.
I exhaled sharply, forcing my heart to steady, my pulse to slow. Whatever had happened in that bathroom—it was a lapse in judgment, a fleeting moment of weakness that could never be repeated.
I pushed off
