Her moan vibrated against my lips, her body molding against mine, pressing closer, needing more.
And fuck, I gave it to her.
Our mouths moved together in a frantic dance—lips, teeth, tongues colliding in a frenzy of need, want, and hunger.
I took advantage of the exposed skin, my lips trailing down the delicate column of her throat, sucking, tasting, biting.
“Amir…” she gasped, the sound raw, breathless, utterly intoxicating.
Her fingers tangled in my hair, nails scraping against my scalp as she pulled me back to her, desperate for more.
And gods, I wanted to give her everything.
I rolled my hips into her again, and she whimpered, a sound so soft yet so utterly undone that it nearly drove me to madness.She pressed against me, her body arching, her breath coming in ragged little gasps that shattered what little control I had left.
She was ruining me.
I was losing myself.
The world beyond these walls no longer existed—only her lips, her body, the way she melted into me, offering herself completely.
With every desperate kiss and touch, I felt the last remnants of my restraint slipping away.
It became harder to remember why we shouldn’t be doing this—why I should push her away and return to the shadows where I belonged.
My senses reeled as I tore myself from her, gasping, burning; the intoxicating swirl of her scent and the softness of her lips seared into my memory like a brand.
The room was suddenly too small, the air too thick with desire, with longing, with something I could not afford to name.
I couldn’t yield to this.
Not when so much was at stake.
“Why did you stop?”
Her voice cracked, a fragile whisper that threatened to break me completely.
I squeezed my eyes shut, fists clenched, fighting the aching need to take her back into my arms.
“Because I am a monster,” I said, the words like ash on my tongue.“Just like Winston.Just like your father and the men who serve him.You should stay away from me.”
It was a plea.A command.A desperate, final attempt to save her from the darkness that clung to my very bones.
“No, no, no!”Her voice rose, trembling, frantic.“You can’t be like them.Please, you’re just saying that!”
Tears streaked down her cheeks, hot and unchecked, and her pain slashed through me—a knife twisting deep into a wound I had long since stopped feeling.
“You don’t know me, Elizabeth.”My voice was frayed—callous and cracked.“You don’t know what I’m capable of.”
I turned away, fists flexing, muscles coiled so tight they might snap.
“Leave now.Before it’s too late.”
The beast within me howled, clawing, fighting, screaming to take her back, claim her, lose myself in her warmth, touch, and undeniable need for me.
But I knew the truth.
I knew the darkness that lurked beneath my skin.
