Chapter 35: Tell me to move
The night stretched on endlessly. Ella lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the faint glow of the moon spilled through the cracks in the curtains. Sleep refused to come, her mind replaying the moment in the library on an endless loop. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Nicholas’s face — the wicked curve of his smirk, the heat in his dark eyes, the way his breath had danced across her lips like a whispered temptation.
Her pulse fluttered at the memory, the ghost of his nearness still lingering on her skin.
What is wrong with me?
Ella huffed out a frustrated breath, throwing off the covers. The room felt too warm, suffocating. Her heart wouldn’t stop its restless pounding, and no matter how many times she shifted positions, sleep remained stubbornly out of reach.
With a sigh, she padded barefoot out of the room, deciding a glass of water might help. The house was eerily quiet at this hour, the faint hum of the night settling over everything like a heavy blanket. She made her way to the kitchen, careful not to make any noise.
As she passed by the living room, the faint clink of glass stopped her in her tracks.
Ella turned, her heart giving a little jolt when she spotted him.
Nicholas.
He was leaning against the bar, half-hidden in the shadows, a glass of amber liquor in his hand. The dim light cast him in soft gold, highlighting the sharp edges of his jaw and the tousled waves of his dark hair. But what caught her off guard—what made her breath hitch in her throat—were the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
She blinked, caught completely off guard.
Nicholas Carter wore glasses.