Page 27 of Burning Love

The two men exchanged glances, uneasy. They clearly didn’t want to fight Alex. Not directly. But they didn’t need to—because she was already losing. She could see it in their faces.

The Alex they followed had been a leader. A protector.

Now? Now she was just a woman who had let her emotions cloud her judgment. A woman who cared a little too much about Sophia.

“I won’t let you take her,” Alex said again, but this time, her voice lacked the weight it once carried. The threat sounded empty, even to her own ears.

Henry studied her for a long moment. Then, with something like regret, he nodded to Tromer, “We’ll be back. You keep her in your quarters, Alex. We’ll be back in the morning. Make sure you put security outside in case she turns on you or something.”

And then they left.

But Alex knew they’d be back with reinforcements.

She knew they couldn’t wait around to see how the next confrontation would play out.

* * *

“Fuck. You’re my savior. I can’t believe this. I feel fine,” Sophia’s voice was raw, urgent as she lay back on Alex’s cot, examining the bite mark that seemed unchanged.

“Of course I am.” Alex sat down next to her, her hands finding Sophia’s hips, fingers digging in as if to reassure herself that this was real, that she hadn’t already lost her. “Listen, we’re going to have to make a run for it. You can’t stay here. You can’t become a lab rat to those fuckers.”

Sophia sat upright suddenly and swung her leg over Alex, pinning her down on the mattress. Her head fell forward as their lips met. The kiss was bruising, full of desperation, of everything they hadn’t said, everything they didn’t know how to say. Sophia’s tongue brushed against Alex’s lip, and when Alex opened her mouth, she was immediately met with a fierce, consuming heat that sent a shudder down her spine.

Alex had spent years being in control. She knew how to take charge, how to command, how to dominate. But now, with Sophia pressing her down, forcing her to yield, she found herself unravelling.

When Sophia’s hands slid down, gripping Alex’s wrists before pinning them above her head, Alex let out a quiet, surprised gasp.

“Oh,” Sophia murmured against her lips, her voice laced with amusement. “I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’ve been through hell and back. I’m going nowhere. New plan. I want to dothisinstead. I want to feel alive with you.”

Alex’s breath hitched. “I don’t?—”

But she didn’t get the words out before Sophia rolled her pants down, the friction sending a shockwave through her, making her arch up with a sharp intake of breath.

“You don’t what?” Sophia teased, but there was something darker in her tone, something almost possessive.

Shit? What’s happening here? Is she a horny zombie?

Alex turned her head, trying to catch her breath, but Sophia wasn’t having it. She leaned in, lips brushing the shell of Alex’s ear. “You don’t like letting someone else take control, do you? But I want to try this. I need it…”

Alex’s pulse pounded in her throat. “Sophia? Are you still… you? I just never imagined you like this?—”

“Don’t panic. I’m still me. But today reminded me how short life is, and I’m still alive somehow.”

Sophia bit down gently on Alex’s neck, and Alex whimpered.The sound was foreign to her own ears. She had never whimpered for anyone.

Sophia moved one of her hands, dragging her fingers down Alex’s stomach, slow, deliberate. Alex felt her entire body tense in anticipation, heat pooling low in her stomach. She wasn’t used to this—to being the one under someone else’s power.

And yet… she wanted it. More than she could admit.

“Say it,” Sophia murmured, her fingers teasing Alex’s wet inner labia. “Tell me you want this. Tell me you want to see this side of me.”

Alex swallowed hard. Her pride warred with her desire, but there was no winning this fight. Not against Sophia. She already liked her a lot, but this was making her wild for Sophia.

“Oh God, I want it,” she admitted, barely above a whisper.

Sophia smiled against her skin. “Good.”

She didn’t let Alex hide, didn’t let her retreat into the safety of dominance. She made her feel every touch, every stroke, every slow flick of her tongue, every deliberate motion designed to keep her right on the edge, trembling, desperate. Determined to feel alive.

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