She looked down, gathering her courage.

“Don’t leave.” She hadn’t the nerve to add me. And yet, how many times had she asked that of him when they were children? Too many to count. But he had broken that promise in the end.

When she dared to glance up again, Alec still hadn’t moved, but his mask had fallen away. Everything he worked so hard to keep hidden was laid bare before her: the wariness, the pain, and, most important, the desire.

Her eyes were drawn to the sensuous curves of his lips, almost indecently full for a man. How badly she wanted him to kiss her again, but not for show this time. Not for anything other than the sheer pleasure of it. The want. The need of it.

He stared at her for a long moment. His piercing gaze stirred something so raw within her she almost fell to her knees. “It’s the shock of earlier,” he finally said. “You don’t know what you’re—”

“Stay with me. Please.”

Alec closed his eyes and muttered a curse.