Chapter 58

ELIZA’S POV Alexander pulled away and looked at me with an intensity that made my breath hitch. His piercing blue eyes burned with something deeper, something raw. My pulse quickened as he reached for my hands, lifting them gently to his lips. The way he kissed them softly, like I was something precious—sent a shiver down my spine. “You are exquisite, Eliza,” he murmured. His voice was husky and thick with emotion. “I could spend a lifetime memorizing every inch of you and still not have enough.” Heat pooled in my abdomen at his words. My skin tingled where his fingers trailed along my wrists. My body reacted to him in ways I didn’t fully understand, but the ache inside me demanded more. I parted my lips, but no words came out—not when his hands had begun to explore, tracing slow patterns over my arms, my shoulders, my back. I gasped softly as he pulled me closer. His breath was warm, ragged, as if he were barely holding himself together. “I can’t stop myself any time I’m near you” he