Valerie's heart jumped. She turned quickly, and there he was, the man who always managed to turn her world upside down.
Demian.
He was still wearing his travel coat, the shoulders dusted with thin traces of snow. Yet his dark eyes… were locked on Valerie, as if from the moment he returned, he had been looking for no one but her.
Valerie stood up reflexively, nearly dropping the book in her hands. "Duke… you've returned?"
Demian didn't answer with words.
He simply walked toward her slowly, steadily, each step deliberate. Closer… and closer… until Valerie could breathe in his familiar scent: pinewood, winter wind, and something shadowed something uniquely Morvex.
"You came straight to the library?" Demian asked softly, his voice low enough to send a tremor through her chest.
"I… I just wanted to read a little," Valerie replied, nervous, lowering her gaze.
Demian lifted a hand to her chin, gentle yet commanding. "Look at me."
