Nina’s eyes grew wide as she was caught red-handed. Instantly, she pulled her gaze back to his face.

"I... I did not what, I..."

The hell was she saying now?

"Turn around," Rodrigo said, cutting her ramble off.

Nina blinked, and whipped her head around.

She shut her eyes tight, and wished the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

She heard his shirt ruffle as his fingers worked the remaining buttons. Each one — slow, deliberate, like he was in no rush at all.

"What is it?" he asked.

Nina turned her face to the side, stopping her head from turning all the way around.

"What?" she asked.

There was a moment of quiet, and she heard the closet door close.

"You’re still here." She heard his footsteps approach. "Do you have anything to say?"

She turned around.

She didn’t know how close he was. Close enough that her next breath caught his.

She stumbled back in reflex, her foot slipped on the rug, the rug pulled under her feet, and she fell backward.

Nina yelped, eyes squeezing shut as she braced for the floor.

It didn’t come.

His arm caught her around the waist, his palm firm and warm against the small of her back, fingers spread wide enough that she could feel each one through the thin fabric of her dress.

She opened her eyes slowly.

They met his.

She’d never seen them this close. The detail of the grey in them — pale and cool like the sky before the first snow.

Everything slowed.

Her breathing. The room. The space between them that was not very much space at all.

"Careful," he said, his voice low.

Her fingers had found the front of his shirt at some point without her deciding to put them there. The warmth of his chest came through the fabric and her hand pressed flat against it before she caught herself, and even then she didn’t move it.

His thumb shifted a fraction against her spine.

Just a fraction.

She felt it everywhere.

He steadied her slowly, but his hand stayed. Long enough that the steadying had become something else. Long enough that she counted four of her heartbeats against his palm.

Then he let her go.

"Thank you," she murmured, her voice softer than she meant it.

His eyes moved over her face, slow. He breathed once. "What was it you wanted to say?"

She blinked.

What did she want to say again?

Her eyes wandered. She cleared her throat. "I wanted to ask if you... if you’ve eaten."

Rodrigo blinked once, his head tilting. "Yes," he said.

He didn’t move.

Nina nodded. "Okay." A small, awkward smile. "That’s good."

He still didn’t move.

He was standing close enough that she would only have to look up slightly to find his eyes. Close enough that she could smell him — something clean, something darker beneath it.

"Was that all?" he asked, his tone level.

Nina looked up, avoiding his gaze.

"Yes," she said. Her voice came out barely above a whisper. "That’s all."

Rodrigo looked at her for one long second, his expression giving nothing away, then nodded, and turned and walked toward the room.

Nina stood in the middle of the closet, hands hanging at her sides.

What was that just now?

She was the one seducing him, not the other way around.

She dragged a breath and let out a scoff, rubbing against her chest.

Get it together, Annalise.

You’re his worst enemy. If he finds out who you are...

She stilled. Her eyes went to the door.

If he finds out he was married to the very person who cursed his entire race.

She turned around, lashes fluttering. She was going to get the book before then.

It would never come to that.

She crossed the room and found him sitting at the study table.

She paused for a second, then walked to him.

His eyes lifted to her briefly, but he said nothing. He took out a box. An old-looking key sat inside.

Nina’s brows creased.

Could it be a key to where he kept the Vothraki?

He slid the key into his breast pocket, took out a pair of bracers from the drawer, and began to tie them.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He said nothing.

Nina’s eyes searched his expression. It gave away nothing.

"Hm?" she continued.

No response.

"Are you going somewhere?" she pressed.

Silence again.

"Out of the pack house?"

Rodrigo’s hands stopped on the bracers and he lifted them to her.

"Have you always been this chatty?"

Nina’s mouth hung open. She blinked once, shook her head.

He held her gaze for a second, then dropped his eyes back to the bracers.

"I want to come with you," she said, after a moment.

His gaze lifted, a brow raised. "What?"

She cleared her throat. "I want to... come with you."

"Where do you think I’m going?"

"I don’t... but..." Her voice lowered. "With everything that’s happened, I think I need to breathe."

Her eyes moved to his breast pocket where he’d kept the key. They returned to his face almost immediately.

Her fingers dug into the table.

"No," Rodrigo replied.

"If you want to breathe, you can go to the flower field. The guards can take you."

He stood and turned to the doors.

Nina stepped in front of him. "Please." A pout. Her eyes held his.

Rodrigo stared at her, his face unreadable.

He moved.

One moment she was standing in front of him. The next she was sitting on the table, her dress riding up, his hand at her throat, her legs parted around him, his other hand splayed at the small of her back, holding her there.

Nina’s eyes went wide. The breath left her in one short pull.

"There," he said, his voice low, deep, and something else. Something that made her thighs press in against his hips before she could stop them.

He leaned in. The hand at her throat tightened — not enough to hurt. Enough that she felt every one of his fingers settle one by one. The space between them gone.

His stubble pricked her jaw as he drew closer.

Her fingers dug into the wood.

"That’s how fast you die."

She gulped. Her pulse beat into his palm. He had to feel it. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He raised his face. She held his gaze, and then watched it drop to her mouth.

Heat pooled low. Her toes curled in her sandals.

"You’ve almost died three times now," his voice a deep whisper, as though there were someone else in the room who could hear him.

His thumb moved along the line of her throat. Once. Slow.

His eyes stayed on her lips a moment longer than normal, then rose to hers. He blinked once.

"You don’t want to keep testing your luck now, do you?"

Her mouth parted. She tried to speak. Nothing came.

She shook her head. "No... I don’t," her voice lower and softer than anything normal.

"Good."

He still didn’t move.

His hand was still at her throat. His hips still between her thighs.

She felt him breathe.

"I’ll instruct the guards to take you to the field. It’ll calm you down and take your mind off things. You can ask them anything you want, they’ll bring it."

He paused. His thumb shifted against her pulse.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded. Her brain had lost its function. She just stayed there nodding to whatever he said.

He held her a second longer than he needed to.

Then he let her go, and turned to the doors, walking out.

Nina sat on the study table, her dress bunched at her thighs, mouth parted, chest beating wildly as she watched him leave.