Massimo didn't put her down. Instead—in what was becoming an uncomfortable pattern for Elena—Massimo carried her in his arms up to their hotel room.
Elena wanted to protest, but her body stopped her. Massimo's touch felt so natural and comforting to her confused nerves. She felt as if she could drift off peacefully there.
The warmth from his palms was so soothing, she didn't bother struggling against him. In fact, she leaned into his torso—just a little, Elena told herself—so that Massimo's soothing heat would cool the drug's fury.
Massimo's steady heartbeat seemed to guide Elena's very being. His breathes dictated her own. It took Elena far too long to realize she couldn't ordinarily make out either noise—that's how natural they felt to her.
But when she questioned them, she noticed t
