"I..."
"Since you heard everything, you could have hidden much farther away. Just like when you were eighteen and fled back to Graymoor overnight. Why didn't you leave?"
Silas Thorne stared at her intently. Those gentle eyes, however, seemed capable of peering into the depths of her soul, cornering her with each passing moment. "It would have been one thing if you'd stayed far away. But why did you come looking for me?"
"I heard you hadn't eaten."
"Is that all?"
Silas's gaze was piercing. Before him, all her pretenses and secrets seemed to melt away. He reached out, gently caressing her face. "Joyce Monroe, will you admit it?"
"That in your heart..."
"...there's a place for me."
The moment their eyes met, Joyce felt something inside her shatter. She was stunned by Silas's directness and even more mortified that her hidden feelings had been laid bare. Her wrist was still in his grasp, and just as she struggled to escape...
His searing kiss crushed down on hers.
