Fuming, Valerie pushed open the study door without bothering to knock.
She stepped inside so quickly that she nearly collided with the man standing on the other side. A startled sound escaped her throat as she lost her balance, but before she could stumble backward, an arm wrapped around her waist and steadied her.
Valerie instinctively looked up.
For a moment, every complaint she had prepared vanished from her mind.
The warm lighting of the study softened the sharpness of Azreal's features. His dark hair had fallen slightly over his forehead, and the deep blue of his eyes appeared almost black from this distance. They seemed impossibly calm, holding the kind of steady focus that always made her feel like she was the only thing he was looking at.
Her gaze lingered a second too long before drifting downward.
The realization of exactly what she was doing made heat immediately creep into her face.
"Yo-your cousin—"
