Page 40 of Ethereally Tainted

My hands clap over my ears, trying to block out the sound of the piano, but its melody still reverberates in my mind. And then the shower room suddenly floods with light, and I hear someone’s soft shuffle outside. I’m shaking, my breaths coming out in gasps as I press my back against the wall of the booth, trying desperately to steady my breathing while I wait for the worst. The darkness is back in my head, and my inner demons still haunt me.

Shestill haunts me.

“You okay in there?”

The rich sound of a dark voice from outside washes over me like a lullaby enveloping me with a sense of peace. I know that voice. I’ve heard it multiple times before. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop the memory of his face from the day we first met from flooding my mind as if it’s been carved into my memory. He is a curse cast upon me.

“Y-yeah.” My voice is unsteady like my breath, and I inwardly scold myself.

In order to keep my body dry, I grab the towel hanging at the stall’s edge and drape it over my body before getting out of the shower.

Right as I exit the booth, I see him in front of me, not even a meter away. He towers over me, standing shirtless in a pair of sweatpants, his bare chest exposed and begging to be touched, showcasing those toned abs of his. His magnificence is almost tangible, leaving me in awe and unable to look away.

A curse, indeed.

His sapphire blue eyes look at me with such intensity and a hint of tenderness. It’s as if he can see cracks in my armor, even before I reveal them. I will not make myself vulnerable to him again.

His eyes are full of emotion, and the scent of his cologne fills the air as his muscular arms move ever so slightly, as if they are desperate for me to be near. There is no verbal communication between him and me at the moment, yet his eyes say a lot to me, as they have done since the first moment I saw him. His eyes speak to me in a way that his mouth never could, providing me with a secret language, one that stirs up a passionate desire within me. The electricity in the air is thick when his eyes meet mine, but his eyes also tell me stories, stories that make my skin tingle and my heart race, stories of forbidden desires I can’t resist.

His breathing is labored and heaving, and I am completely still, not even daring to exhale. Because of the way he looks at me, as if I’m not wearing the towel around my body, I feel such a need to reach out to him. It’s as if I’m naked in his eyes, making his throat bob. It’s as if I want him to push me against the wall and then let his cock slide into me at a rapid pace. All of his perfections and imperfections make me crave him immensely, and my clit throbs with need. I imagine us doing all those things, and the heat radiates off him as he looks at me with a smoldering gaze. I know he could chase away the shadows if only I let him, but I’m not ready to let him.

Gazing into his eyes, I sway back and forth from the way he is frenzied, fixed on me with unrelenting desire. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt so alive, so flustered, as my sensitive parts tingle and throb with the desire to feel him against me. It’s terrifying, and I don’t know what to do, or how to act.

“Why were the lights off?” He stares at me with a puzzled expression, his question hanging in the air.

I scratch my neck awkwardly, hoping he cannot somehow read my mind and know what I was thinking about. “I don’t know.”

He raises an eyebrow, disbelief evident on his face, and I feel compelled to explain further. His arms cross, and I try to focus on his eyes rather than his body straining against his clothing.

“I was showering, and the lights turned off.”

His face turns up in a smirk as he notices my hesitation, my cheeks flush in embarrassment, and it’s obvious he sees my blush. The bastard knows what kind of affection he has on me, and he enjoys my discomfort. I fix him with a steely, stern gaze, and he chuckles before becoming serious again.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.” I murmur, my voice barely audible, and I push past him, needing to get away from the way he stirs my emotions.

An electric current courses through me when our shoulders come in contact, it’s almost as if I’m about to burst with energy. I hear his sharp intake of oxygen as I leave him alone in the bathroom, and confusion pulses through every nerve.

What the fuck was that about?

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HAVING GOTTEN DRESSED AND calmed my racing heart after the encounter with the hot and tattooed guy, I search every corner of the building until I find Rebecca in the activity room. She’s concentrating hard on the puzzle in front of her, and I take a deep breath as I make my way through the room, luckily not recognizing anyone except Rebecca. Against my skin, the cool cushion fabric feels refreshing as I settle into the chair before her. When she sees me, a glimmer of recognition appears in her eyes that had been dull and empty just moments before, and I smile warmly in response.

It seems like today is a good day for her.

“Hi, Naya.”

She smiles at me, her lips curving slightly while her eyes light up. Although we’ve only talked to each other once before and briefly caught a glance of each other in the cafeteria, it feels like I’ve known her forever. Her attention turns again to the puzzle, and I reach for a paper in front of her with a pink crayon. Taking a quick look around my environment to ensure that no guard or nurse has their eyes on me, I hastily tuck the paper into my pants and place the crayon pen inside my bra. I have a faint idea about forming my escape on paper.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” I ask her, needing to get out of this crowded room.

She puts the last piece of the puzzle in place and looks up at me again before nodding. “Let’s go.”

Upon entering the corridor, the disinfectant scent is strong, and some patients linger around, heading to the activity room, their rooms, or visiting Dr. Lewis and Mr. Ricci. We keep moving forward, our steps reverberating through the quietness as we amble without a particular goal.

“So, how have you been these past few days?”

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