‘My loveliest, most terrifying cactus …’ ‘You’re mocking me!’ My voice wobbled all the same. ‘I wouldn’t dare,’ he muttered, and suddenly there was a new edge of hoarseness to his words, a raw quality that had nothing to do with sore, unused vocal cords and everything to do with the reverent way his wings curled slowly around my naked body. ‘I’m fully fucking honest when I say no one has ever frightened me as much as you do. I’ve never had this much to lose before.’
