Chapter 17

• Startled, she sucked in a breath, her heart beating a tattoo in her chest, but she still couldn’t move. She refused to. Her breath came faster and her left hand went up to her neck, rubbing down to the exposed part of her upper chest then back up again to her neck as she forced herself to take deep and even calming breaths.
• She went rigid when she felt his body brush up against her back. The breath from his lips was right at her left ear. She swallowed hard, eyes tightly shut; she held herself perfectly still. His forehead brushed against the side of her head, from her chin to her cheek and up to her temple. His lips quickly and lightly swept over her earlobe. Her knees buckled then and she bit down hard on her lower lip.
• “Talia,” he whispered heatedly into her ear.