IE

e of blood bloomed on my tongue. I wouldn't m

That silent, stubborn withdrawal. A low growl

e rasped aga

something

with a reluctance that felt like a ba

rozen my heart solid, and I stayed c

ow, tortured, almost pained. Then he s

n't bi

me. It took me a moment to ev

d it cut through the haze of p

it wa

ht ball with my back to him. Like a wounded animal seeking shel

ching, heavy. Whatever satisfaction he might have felt was quickly swallowed by a suffocat

s dipped slightly. I flinche

it-his hand suspended in the spac

up and tucked it gently over

ything that had just happened. My body went rigid. And the tears I'd b

ed sobs. The silence between us was so thick I could taste it. I wondered, dimly,

d misery dragged me into

en did

my sleeping body into his arms. His touch was impossibly

was slipping through the

o an empt

pha instincts screaming, h

he sa

staff had laid out. I stood by the closet entranc

w. But my movements were precise, me

lightly. I silently walked toward

voice a hoarse whi

es of displeasure cutting deep across his face. Whatever small tenderness he'd shown last n

m. His fingers brushed mine

back like I'

ed as if to say something, but the words died before they

t o

I turned without a word a

ight. He ran a hand through his

ng around him like a shroud. He stared out at the manicu

ng me, would fill the strange, a

emptiness h

legs threatening to give out. The terror of the night and the strain of