Chapter 40.

CHAPTER FORTY NORA CARUSO I spent the night tangled in the sheets, tossing and turning until the silk felt like a tourniquet. Every time I closed my eyes, the darkness of the bedroom transformed into the glow of the living room fireplace. I saw the firelight dancing on the sharp angles of Nikolai's face. I saw the way his eyes had dilated, swallowing the iris until they were pools of black ink. I felt the phantom warmth of his thumb tracing my lower lip. You almost kissed him. The thought replayed in my mind that made my cheeks burn with shame in the dark. If the power hadn't come back on... if that chandelier hadn't flooded the room with light... I would have crossed the line. I would have kissed the man who had married me with force. It was the wine, I told myself, punching the pillow for the tenth time. It was the fear of the dark, it was the adrenaline of the storm. But as dawn broke, I knew I was lying. I sat up, pushing the hair out of my face. My head felt heavy, a dull throb pu