The atmosphere hung thick with tension, the air practically crackling with unspoken implications. Rose stared at Damien, her heart pounding a staccato rhythm against her ribcage as his words echoed in the charged silence.
"Two heartbeats?" She affected a look of innocent confusion, one delicate brow arching in a practiced display. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."
Damien regarded her through narrowed eyes, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, neither of them moved, a silent battle of wills playing out across the dimly lit space between them.
Then, without warning, Damien took a deliberate step backwards, putting a sliver of distance between their bodies. His gaze raked over her from head to toe, assessing, scrutinizing.
"You've changed since last we met," he murmured at last, a rumble of contemplation in his deep voice. "I had assumed, at first, that it was merely the passing of weeks that altered your form so..."
