"Can you speak in English?" he asked, flat but firm, his gaze piercing as if stripping her thoughts bare. "I don't understand a single word that just came out of your mouth."
The woman froze. Her throat tightened, her fingers clutching the blanket as if searching for something to hold on to. Her heart pounded wildly, not only because of the man's searing stare, but also because of the faint shadows that came rushing back into her mind. That night. The night she had once thought was merely a dream, heated touches on her skin, intoxicating kisses, whispers that echoed in her ears. All of it now crashed into her consciousness, too vivid to deny, too clear to call an illusion. Her body still bore the traces of a truth she could no longer refute.
