Chapter 44: The Blind Feeling
Salviana stood still, her gaze locked on her reflection in the mirror. Her breath hitched as she realized that while she could sense Alaric’s presence behind her, but his reflection was nowhere to be seen.
The feeling was surreal—knowing he was right there, so close that she could feel his cool breath fanning her neck, yet seeing only herself in the mirror. It was like living a fantasy that was true and this made her skin prickle with anticipation.
His long, cold fingers brushed against the back of her neck as he lifted her hair off her shoulders, slow and deliberate. The touch sent a shiver through her, and she sucked in a sharp breath, her pulse quickening.
His hands were icy, but the sensation was almost electric, awakening something inside her she hadn’t known was there.
She felt his fingers at the zipper of her gown, the sound of it being pulled down filling the room with an intimacy that made her heart race.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, laced with nerves and a hint of something else—curiosity, desire.
"Trust me," he murmured, his voice like velvet, calm and sure, as if he had all the time in the world.
Her gown slipped from her shoulders and fell to the floor with a soft thud, pooling around her feet in a silken heap. She wanted to move, to step back, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t fear that kept her still—it was the overwhelming sensation of being completely seen, and yet... unseen.
His hands lingered on her skin, and though she couldn’t see him, she felt every inch of his presence, like a force that wrapped around her, anchoring her to the moment.