He removed his cloak, overcoat and shirt, then took slow deep breaths as he stepped towards her. Emily’s heart quickened. She saw the animal lust in his eyes, and she knew her own gaze answered his.
Without a second thought Emily flung herself at him, pressing tight against him, arms banding about his neck. But he didn’t return her embrace. His arms hung at his sides. He was coiled tight, rigid and so impossibly cold.
“Godric, I’m so glad you’re here, but…” Godric pried her arms from around his neck and set her firmly away from him, the distance between them a vast ocean, dark and bottomless. She needed to explain. There was no other option. “You shouldn’t have come. I can’t protect you like this.”
“Do. Not. Speak.”
A rabbit trapped against a serpent’s gaze, Emily stood mesmerized and
