Evaline:
His smile deepened - that knowing, slightly dangerous kind that made my pulse quicken. The corner of his lips tilted upward, a flicker of mischief in his usually calm blue eyes. "Oh, Eva," he said, rising from his chair with slow, deliberate grace. "I'm glad you think it's easy."
Something in his voice changed then - the warmth remained, but there was an undertone, a teasing sharpness that made my heart beat faster. I straightened instinctively, the edge of confidence I had been holding onto beginning to slip. "Why do you sound like that's a bad thing?"
Kieran moved closer. The faint scrape of the chair legs against the floor echoed through the quiet study. His shadow fell across the books, swallowing the lines of glowing runes that shimmered faintly on the pages. When he leaned forward, bracing one hand on the desk beside me, I could feel the heat radiating from his body. His presence always carried a strange kind of calm power - silent, but impossible to ignore.
