Chapter 8 · Forbidden Resonance

"Get your hands off me, Kaelen."

I didn't just say it; I spat it. He had me pinned against the heavy oak workbench, his fingers digging into the wood on either side of my hips. He wasn't squeezing, not yet, but the heat radiating off him was like standing too close to an open furnace.

"You're shaking," he whispered. His voice had changed. It wasn't that flat, obedient drone he used when I told him to clean the vials. It was low, rough, and sounded far too much like a man who knew exactly what he was doing to me.

"I'm not shaking. I'm annoyed," I lied, trying to shove my palm against his chest. It was like hitting a brick wall.

Kaelen didn't budge. Instead, he leaned in closer, his chest brushing against mine with every shallow breath I took. I could smell ozone and something metallic—blood, probably, from the mess he'd made of the Imperial scouts earlier.

"Liar," he murmured. He tilted his head, his gaze dropping to my lips and staying there. "Your heart is hammering. I can feel it through your skin. It's fast. Terrified.