Page 31 of Close

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The sound reverberates through the small space, each blow like a sledgehammer to my already frayed nerves. I can’t breathe. It’s like my lungs have forgotten how to function.

Found you.

“No, no, no.” I whimper, squeezing myself further into the corner as if I could melt into the wall and disappear.

“Princess?”

Chapter 10

Lilian

His voice pierces through the silence, followed by a gentle knock on the bathroom door. “You can come out now. I’m here.”

“Sebastian.” I scramble to my feet and fumble with the lock on the stall door.

It swings open, and I’m greeted by his strong arms wrapping me in his warmth. I bury my face in his chest, desperate to forget what happened. The monsters are still here, lurking in the shadows. I need an escape.

“Kiss me,” I blurt out without thinking.

His body tenses against mine before he ever so slowly places his lips on mine. It’s gentle, cautious, and not at all what I need right now.

“Again.” My voice is barely above a whisper. “Really, kiss me this time. Pretend like you mean it.”

He doesn’t move a muscle.

What am I doing?

I try to wiggle out of his hold, but he grips my waist with his hand while cupping my cheek with the other.

“I don’t need to pretend.” He crushes his mouth against mine, claiming me with a fervor that steals my breath.

This.

Both of his hands grip my waist as he hauls me up onto the counter, the cold surface a shock against my thighs. But it’s nothing compared to the heat of his body as he steps between my legs, not breaking the kiss once.

This is what I need.

I lose myself in him, in the way his tongue tangles with mine, in the way his fingers dig into my hips. It’s desperate and hungry and so perfect. I don’t care that we’re in a public bathroom. I don’t care that anyone could walk in. All I care about is the way Sebastian makes me feel alive.

A moan escapes me as his teeth graze my bottom lip. He swallows the sound, his kiss turning harder, deeper. Ravaging me. My hands fist in his hair, tugging him closer. I want to crawl inside him, to lose myself completely.

Because when he’s kissing me like this, I forget. I forget the monsters lurking in the shadows of my mind. I forget the fear that constantly claws at my throat. With Sebastian, there’s only pleasure. I arch into him, needing more. Needing everything he can give me. His hands slip under my thighs, yanking me flush against him. I gasp at the contact, at the hard ridge of him pressing against my center.

“Fuck, princess.” He groans against my mouth. “We need to stop.”

No. What if they come back?

I kiss him with more ferocity, pouring everything into this moment. The fear, the need, the desperate ache for something more. Sebastian takes it all, giving me back the escape I crave. With his body against mine, his lips devouring me, there’s no room left for the monsters.

And for a blissful moment, wrapped up in him, I’m free.

He breaks the kiss again, pulling away despite my desperate attempts to keep him close. “We need to stop. If we don’t…”

I nod, but the loss of his warmth leaves me exposed and vulnerable, and the numbness creeps back in, settling deep in my bones.

“You’re shaking.” He shrugs off his varsity jacket and drapes it over my shoulders, the material still warm from his body.

---