Page 158 of Ignite

I stay. I want to survive.

My thighs cramp as I force them beneath the surface. My teeth chatter uncontrollably. My arms pull tighter to my chest, but it does nothing. There is no warmth. Only burn.

The kind of pain that feels like death in slow motion.

I look up.

He’s still there.

Still silent.

Still watching.

His arms are folded now. The pistol still resting in one hand, casual as if he’s done this a thousand times. His dark eyes behind that black mask don’t waver. He doesn’t move.

And that somehow makes it worse.

Because I’m completely alone. Naked in the ways that count. Drenched in agony, holding myself together while some stranger stares like I’m a science experiment.

The first thirty seconds crawl by like molasses. I count my breaths to keep from screaming. Every nerve screams. My nipples are pebbled and burning beneath the thin lace of the bodysuit. My skin pulses with pain.

Forty-five seconds.

Tears burn at the corners of my eyes.

My fingers have gone stiff, fists clenched beneath the water. My toes feel like they’re splintering.

I want to quit. God, I want to get out.

But I can still hear her scream.

And the gunshot.

And I know—if I leave this bath before it ends, I won’t just be cold.

I’ll be dead.

Sixty seconds.

I grit my teeth until my jaw aches, pressing my palms against my thighs to keep them from shaking. My body wants to shut down. Go numb.

It doesn’t.

It just hurts.

Ninety seconds.

I make the mistake of looking at him again. He tilts his head slightly, studying me like I’m being graded. Not cruel. Not kind.

Just… a man who’s seen this before. Who’s waiting to see if I’ll break.

I won’t.

I can’t.

Not when there’s so much more on the line than just my life.

Conan. He is my fire in this frost.

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