Page 57 of Somno Slave

“Shh.” A deep, velvety voice coos. It doesn’t come from a voice, but whispers straight from within my brain like lips licking my skull.

My eyes finally obey me. I open them.

Darkness fractures into shape and I see him.

The criminal.

Here.

Now.

Hot and heavy, leering over me like a sinner over its sacrifice.

“No!” I gasp, the panic hitting sharp and electric. “Get off me—get off!”

My bodytriesto surge upward, shoulder straining, spine arching, muscles locking as I force everything I have into the movement. I twist violently, trying to throw him off, to buck him loose—nothing.

Not even an inch.

“Move,” I choke, “Move!”

Head floods my face. My hands claw at nothing, fingers curling, nails digging into air that refuses to respond. I try to scream again, louder this time, forcing it up from my chest like it can rip free. But the sound dies before it touches my lips.

“No!” I strain harder, breath tearing sharp and uneven. “No, don’t you—”

He leans closer.

The heat of him is wrong, too close, too consuming. It rolls over my skin like something alive, like fire learning the shape of my body.

“You look so beautiful like this,” he murmurs. His mouth doesn’t move, but the words arrive anyway, landing in my mind like they’ve been planted.

I thrash again, forcing every ounce of strength into the attempt. My body should move. Itshould.I feel my muscles screaming, tendons straining, breath breaking apart in my chest.

But I’m trapped. Held in place like I’ve been pinned beneath something far stronger than flesh.

“Get—off—me!” I force out. The wordhelpis on the tip of my tongue, but as soon as I inhale enough oxygen to make my sound do damage, the sound is snatched from me.

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Help isn’t coming.”

The words land heavy and final.

What the fuck!

I try again, one last violent push and the force just...stops.

My fingers tense, then loosen. My breath comes in too quick, catches halfway, won’t go any further. He tilts his head, studying me. His eyes flick up once, land on the camera watching us, and then back to me. He smiles openly.

“You think I don’t see your little trap there, Doctor?” he murmurs. “Are you going to watch it back and fuck yourself wishing it were my fingers inside you?”

He pushes so close his breath feels like fire. “A little camera won’t stop me from ruining you.”

Fear kicks my pulse into hard, uneven beats. I can feel it in my throat, in my wrists, everywhere at once. A tear slips free before I can stop it, hot against my skin as it drags down my cheek. It just keeps falling, and I have to stay here and let it.

He moves fast, his thumb brushing beneath my eye, catching the tear before it reaches my ear.

My heart slams against my ribcage.

“How—” I gasp, “What is this?”