Kade's expression did not soften. "A walk?" he repeated, his voice dropping slightly, his gaze moving over her in a slow, deliberate sweep that missed nothing. "With bare feet?"
His hold on her did not tighten, but something in his posture shifted, the quiet control beneath it sharpening further, protective and possessive in equal measure. "Do you know how cold these floors are?" he continued, his tone steadier now but no less firm, carrying the weight of an alpha who had spent years ensuring nothing touched what was his. "Look at what you're wearing."
His gaze lingered on the thin fabric of her sleeping dress, the way it clung to her frame with nothing between her skin and the cool night air that whispered through the estate's halls. "I have guards stationed throughout these walls," he added, quieter now, but with a weight that carried far more meaning than the words themselves. "No one should be seeing you like this."
