Archie’s POV
By sunrise, the fever had broken, but the heat in my veins hadn't cooled a single degree.
I left Evan’s bedroom before the clock struck six, retreating into the master bathroom to scrub the phantom sensation of Lincoln’s breath off my skin. The cold water did nothing. Every time I looked into the mirror, all I saw was how close I had been. Three inches. Just three inches from pulling him toward me, from giving up three years of rigid control for a taste of something I had no business wanting.
I avoided the kitchen entirely.
When Clara arrived at eight with my morning briefings, I took my coffee in the study behind locked doors. I heard Lincoln’s footsteps out in the hallway, his voice gentle and low as he brought Evan a bowl of plain oatmeal and told Ethan to keep the volu
