Chapter 49

• Eloise
• I closed the atelier door behind him with trembling hands, feeling his presence seep out into the cold street air, leaving a blackened void in its place. My chest burned as I leaned against the wood panel, head tilted back, eyes fluttering shut.
• For a moment, all I could hear was the hammering of my own heartbeat and the buzzing silence that followed him everywhere. Lucian’s cologne still clung to the air, oakwood, bergamot, a hint of leather polish. Memories erupted unbidden, painting across my mind like old photographs dipped in acid.