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I clutch it tightly around me, inhaling the scent of him. It’s comforting, but it’s not enough. Not when the monsters are waiting for their chance to pounce.

“I’m fine.” My voice sounds hollow even to my own ears.

“Bullshit. You’re not fine. Talk to me.”

How can I explain the terror that snares me when I don’t understand it myself? When I don’t want to understand it. The way my mind turns on me, conjuring up horrors I can’t escape?

“I can’t.” I hate how weak I sound. “Please. Just make me feel something else.”

“You won’t regret it?”

I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood and shake my head again.

“Stop hurting these beautiful lips, princess.” He reaches out, his thumb gently freeing my bottom lip from my teeth. “I shouldn’t, but you’re really not making this easy for me.”

Before I can respond, Sebastian silences me with a kiss. This time, it’s different—tender yet no less consuming. I melt into him, letting his touch chase away the lingering shadows.

His hands begin to wander up my bare thigh beneath the hem of my skirt, leaving trails of heat in their wake. He pauses, giving me a questioning look, asking for permission.

I nod almost imperceptibly, too far gone to deny the aching need he’s ignited within me.

Dancing along the sensitive skin of my inner thigh, his hands continue their journey. My pulse races, my body trembling with a heady mix of nerves and desire. No one has ever touched me like this before. So intimately. So possessively.

He grazes the damp fabric of my panties, evidence of how much he affects me. A low growl rumbles in his chest and he presses his forehead against mine, his eyes dark with want.

“Fuck. You’re so wet for me already, aren’t you?” His voice is rough, strained with controlled hunger.

I whimper in response, my hips tilting forward, seeking more of his touch. He hisses through his teeth. I should be embarrassed by my wanton behavior, but I’m too far gone to care.

“Please.” I’m not even sure what I’m begging for. I only know I need him to continue. To give me more of this feeling. Anything to keep the monsters at bay.

Sebastian’s fingers tease along the edge of my panties, his eyes burning into mine. “Tell me what you need, princess.”

I bite my lip. The rational part of my brain is screaming at me to put a stop to this. But the reckless, desire-fueled part of me craves more.

His fingers dip lower, brushing over my aching center, making me gasp.

“Use your words.”

“I need…” My whole body is on fire.

“Don’t be shy. Not with me.”

His words unravel me. Make me bold. “Touch me. Please.”

A satisfied smirk tugs at his lips. Deft fingers descend beneath the last barrier, and I shudder as skin meets skin. He teases my soaked entrance, and I buck, hypersensitive to his touch.

My head falls back against the mirror with a thump, and I moan, uncaring who might hear. The danger only heightens the pleasure.

What is happening to me?

His eyes pore over me with hunger as he works me higher. “That’s it, princess.”

I’m burning up from the inside out, consumed by a need I’ve never known before. Sebastian delves deeper, stoking the flames inside me in a steady rhythm. His touch is electric, igniting every nerve ending until I’m a live wire of sensation. It’s like he’sunlocked something inside me, a hunger I didn’t even know existed.

I can’t think straight. Can’t focus on anything but the exquisite pleasure he’s drawing from my body with each stroke, each caress. It’s too much and not enough all at once.

My hips rock against his hand, chasing the friction I crave. I’m so close already, teetering on the edge of something monumental.

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