Page 46 of Irreversible

“His Adam’s apple bobbed as his eyes fluttered closed. When he reopened them, his hand began gliding up her arm, past her shoulder, landing in her crown of chestnut curls. Tightening his fist in her hair, he pressed his forehead to hers and rasped out, ‘In my dreams, I’ve kissed you an infinite number of times.’”

“Please tell me this isn’t what women are looking for in a man,” I groan.

My storyteller shushes me.

“Choking on a small cry, Alessandra leaned forward and crushed her mouth to his, desperate to bring his dreams to life. She’d never acted so boldly before, but when it came to love, there was no place for cowardice. There was no room for holding back.”

“Don’t hold back, Alessandra.”

Everly clears her throat.

“Groaning with wild abandon, Chadwick parted his lips instantly, his tongue seeking and hungry. Urgent. Alessandra crawled her way into his lap, straddling him, her arms linking behind his neck as their mouths made beautiful love. She kissed him with passion, with tenderness, moving to clasp his cheeksbetween her palms and cherishing him like he wholly deserved. His arousal, hard like a steel pipe, teased the juncture between her thighs, causing her to moan with wanton need.”

“Did you really just compare his dick to a steel pipe?”

“Don’t interrupt. I’m making sure they’re okay.” Barely contained amusement dances through her reprimand. “And those were Alessandra’s words, not mine.”

“‘Alessandra,’ he hissed with lust, pulling back for a breath. ‘We’re being foolish. This will destroy us.’

She kissed his bottom lip once, then twice. ‘If I had to choose between this, or anything else in this world, I’d rather be a fool in love.’”

I interrupt the cheesy dialogue with several slow claps. “Look at that; they seem to be doing just fine. We should give them some privacy.”

Okay, so listening to her is kind of entertaining and I might not mind letting her go on longer—though I will not be admitting that. Just like I would never say that her laugh reminds me of the gentle tinkle of wind chimes on a breezy spring day.

My eyes close.

With my ear pressed against the wall, I barely process the series of beeps preceding a quiet click at my door. It opens, and before I have time to orient myself, the embodiment of Satan wrapped in purple satin, silvery hair, and pure, sadistic evil invades my space with a flourish.

All the air is sucked from the room.

Instantly, I switch to defensive mode, narrowing my gaze on the man keeping us prisoner.

“Well, you seem to be settling right in.” His voice leaves an oily film everywhere it touches. That one dark eye roves over me like a black hole, an unfeeling void, while its icy opposite holds secrets I don’t want to ponder long enough to process.

“I’m sorry.” My focus homes in, every muscle tensed and ready. “Visiting hours are over. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

There’s a flatness in the way he observes me. Different from the smug glee he showed during our first conversation. Like I’ve done something to annoy him.

Maybe he’s just not a morning person.

“Oh, come now, it’s barely breakfast.” The smile he gives me oozes promises of death as he fiddles with the ornate hourglass dangling from his belt.

I mirror his expression. “We’re closed.”

“I won’t stay long; I just came to bring you a little gift. Your new friend can explain its meaning.” He gestures at the wall flippantly, while reaching in the breast pocket of his suit jacket and pulling out?—

Well, fuck.

Another small hourglass sits in his palm like a prize. It’s only a few inches tall, but I haven’t forgotten the conversation with Everly about the former residents of this room.

When their time is up, they receive an hourglass.

My heart kicks up with a surge of adrenaline. I’ve been passing the days with plans of a grand breakout, but sometimes I forget that my life is as fragile as any of the others.

I school my face into the picture of boredom; I’ll be damned if I let him see me crack now. “That’s cute.”

“Youaredifficult to fluster, aren’t you?” His mouth stretches in a grim smile. “Or maybe you’re just well-trained.”

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