POV: JASMINE
I peeled off the strap of my gown slowly. My fingers trembled slightly as I tucked my hair into a loose bun. The hot shower did nothing to soothe the tightness in my chest. I was about to climb into my bed, ready to sleep, when my door flung open. "What the—" I sat up fast, heart in my throat. But the words caught and lodged deep in my throat when I felt a large, rough hand gripping my arm with bruising force while the other wrapped around my throat. And then—slam—my back hit the wall. My breath fled in a sharp gasp. Alaric. His eyes—black with fury—bored into mine with a rage that bordered on feral. "You have a lot of nerves, baby. You truly do."
"Let me go, Alaric!" I managed to choke out, but my words barely made it past my dry throat. I clawed at his arm as I struggled against the iron grip around my throat.
His body pressed into mine, caging me against the wall, heat radiating from him like an inferno.
