Chapter 14 · Eyes in the Shadows

"Don't even breathe."

Her fingers were already on my throat. Cold. Light. Not squeezing yet, but right over my pulse. One nail pressed into the skin under my jaw—exactly where it would be easiest to open me up.

"Sloane?" I kept my eyes shut. My heart was trying to punch through my ribs. "That you, or did the High Lord finally find someone cheaper?"

"Shut up."

Her voice was a low rasp right next to my ear. Too close. I could feel her breath on my cheek, hot and uneven.

"You talk in your sleep," she whispered.

"I don't."

"You do. You said my name."

I forced a breath. Her fingers didn't budge. "Yeah, well. You're standing over my bed at—what, three a.m.? That's gonna make a guy say your name. Not in a good way."

"You think this is a joke?"

"I think if you wanted me dead, I'd be dead," I said. "So what's this? Bedtime check?"

She pressed harder.