I jerk my gaze from his and start walking again, not wanting him to finish that thought. He chuckles bitterly and follows.

When we arrive at the council room, Rafe knocks, and we wait to be admitted.

He comes to stand facing me, a little too close, so I step back and hit the wall behind me.

I say words that I know will push him away. “That time on the Atlas, the power outage? It was because of me.”

“I gathered.”

“I provided the location of the station in New York and alerted the Families of our arrival so they could use a magnetic pulse to stop the train and plant a tracker.” And I’ve been consumed with guilt ever since, assuming that leading the Families to Carnevale must have aided in Hypatia’s abduction. But now I wonder if Michael helped them. How long has he been working with Kor?

Rafe hasn’t said a word in response to my admission.

I break first. “I’ll admit, I expected a little more of a call-for-blood reaction to that information.”

“I believe I promised to avoid any more death threats,” he teases with the quirk of a smile that makes my mouth go dry.

He steps closer, and my breath hitches as I press into the wall, no space left to retreat. We’re both gazing intensely at each other, and it feels different. For the first time, both of our masks are off. He has seen the worst of me, and I of him. We know each other’s values without pretense. I feel naked; I’d become so used to wearing my mask.

Rafe lifts his hand to push the hair away from my neck and then he strokes an electric finger down my throat. “I can still taste you,” he whispers, leaning in, his nose brushing against my skin. He breathes in deeply, but I have lost my own ability to breathe at all.

I feel barely there wet warmth as his tongue traces the column of my throat, making my entire body shiver and tighten. Then his teeth teasingly press into my skin, and my eyes flutter closed as I arch into him. I didn’t know that a heart so recently broken could race this fast. I didn’t know that the promise of a bite could make me want—

The door to the council room opens, and we jump apart.

Prince Alex’s soft gravel says, “Come in.”