Clara didn't sleep for a single second. She lay in the king-sized bed in the bridal suite, staring at the dark ceiling, her body buzzing with a toxic mixture of absolute terror and desperate, agonizing anticipation. She hadn't locked the door. She had explicitly disobeyed her fiancé's brother, and now she was lying in the dark, waiting for him like a lamb waiting for the slaughter.
At exactly 1:00 AM, the door handle turned.
Clara sat up in bed, her heart slamming against her ribs so hard it hurt. The door opened and closed quietly. Julian stepped into the moonlit room. He was wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, but he still looked enormous, his broad shoulders blocking out the dim light from the hallway. He walked straight to the bed without saying a word.
"Take off the nightg
