The moment our suite door clicked shut behind us, the composed facade I'd maintained all evening cracked like thin ice. My hands shook as I slipped off my shoes, my legs finally giving out as I sank onto the edge of the bed.
"Sera?" Kaelen's voice was tight with concern. "Are you all right?"
I looked up at him, his powerful frame silhouetted against the soft lighting of our room. My heart was still racing from our charged moment just seconds before, when we'd stood at the edge of something far more dangerous than politics.
"I'm fine," I managed, though the tremor in my voice betrayed me. "Just... processing everything that happened tonight."
Kaelen loosened his tie with a single fluid motion and shrugged off his jacket. The simple act shouldn't have been so mesmerizing, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. Something about tonight had shifted the air between us, making every movement feel charged with significance.
