Page 97 of Claimed In Darkness

A dangerous thing.

A desperate action.

"You already do," he murmurs.

The words sink into my skin, curl deep into me, threaten to make me soft.

He knows me too damn well, I abhor it.

Zephiran sees things I never want him to witness.

The bastard knows exactly what kind of power he has over me.

A power I never wanted to give.

A power I should have never let him take.

I exhale slow, my body refusing to pull away, my mind warring with my instincts.

"You let her touch you," I say again.

The words come softer this time.

Not a scream.

Not a demand.

Just truth.

He doesn’t deny it.

He just watches me.

Like a man watching the only thing he’s ever truly wanted slip through his fingers.

Zephiran fucked up, and he’s aware of it.

But that’s not enough.

It’s never enough.

Because Aereth still exists.

She is alive, whole, beautiful—exactly what I am not.

Even if he tells me I am different, that I am the one he wants, she will always be there.

A ghost between us.

A reminder that he has already loved before and she’s back.

And I do not believe in second chances.

Not for men like him.

Not for monsters who never learned how to choose.

My body feels too tight, too full, too wrong.

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