Layla’s POV
I suspected, jealousy or not, that Elias’s appearance was merely a spark for Nate’s deeper plan. Beneath the veneer of external chaos, he’d likely been waiting for the moment Lucas’s attention was snared by Vera to claim me fully, to purge the frustration of our ten-minute nightly meetings, timed and curtailed by Lucas’s watchful eye.
I couldn’t recall how many times I’d shattered under him, but when I woke, my body was clean, nestled in my bed at Starlight Manor. Nate lay propped beside me, his large hand gently tracing my hair’s ends. His eyes gleamed like the night sky, pulling me into their depths.
I lifted my arms, wrapping them around his neck, pressing a soft kiss to his eyes. “You stayed the night? Lucas didn’t come to nudge you out?” I asked, puzzled. Even with Vera
