Cecelia’s POV
The heavy footsteps of Marcus’s enforcers came closer to the curtain, and River suddenly pulled me deeper into the narrow space, wrapping his arms tightly around my shoulders while pressing my back against his chest to smother my scent.
I could feel the rapid beating of his heart against my spine, his breathing hitching as his face buried into the side of my neck, and his grip became so fierce and desperate that it felt less like he was hiding me and more like he was claiming me for himself.
“River, you are holding me too tight, I can barely breathe,” I whispered, trying to wriggle out of his embrace, but his hands stayed locked around my waist, and his body remained completely rigid against mine until the voices of the enforcers grew more distant down the main hall.
“I
