Between Ink and Shadows (Between Ink and Shadows, #1)

by Melissa Wright

Warrick did not ask what had happened to her. A snap of magic knocked out the flame of her candle before he moved. When he reached for her, she was too stunned to back away, and she let him take her elbow to lead her out of his bedchamber. In the study, he placed her in front of a plush chair, glared her down to sitting, and removed his robe to lay it across her lap. The soft material smelled of him, that warm, woody scent, and still held the heat of his body. Nim had not realized she was shivering with cold. Warrick crossed his arms and stared down at her, devastating in his uniform. She pressed her lips together and swallowed hard. It wasn’t as if she’d set out to be so entirely indecorous. She’d only… well, she’d had no other choice. “Calum,” she told him. Her voice was raw and unsteady, her body trembling beneath the drape of Warrick’s robe. His gaze softened, and Warrick uncrossed his arms as he crouched before her. “I need my key,” she said. “It’s the only”—a tremor racked her, breaking her declaration of its power—“way to keep him out.”