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I swallow. I melt.

Our breathing is ragged now. There’s a stillness in our closeness. Our minds are still catching up to what’s happening.

“And what about your vow of abstinence?” I ask, whispering. “Would you break it? Would you dare?”

It’s the one thing left hanging in the air. The last curse to break. Fabien leans back and glares at me. Something inside him releases at my question.

“I can break it now,” he says, “if that’s what you desire, Jolie.”

“I’m the one who caused it.”

“And you’re the one who can end it.”

We pause, our foreheads touching.

No answer yet from me.

We’re still so wet. Our lips are so close, gently parted, still brushing.

We take this in. We both know what this moment is.

The final line.

Cross this, and everything from here on changes. This isn’t some teenage infatuation, or hate, or mindless thirst.

This is something real.

“I desire it,” I whisper back. “I desire it more than anything. I desire you, Fabien.”

At my confession, Fabien begins to move. His hands pin mine against the penthouse wall. It’s not rough. It’s exactly what we need. His strength meets mine. This isn’t a display of dominance; it’s recognition. I’ve been holding him back for so long, but now he holds me.

He can have me.

He kisses my neck like he’s coming up for air. And I’m moaning. I’m sighing. I’m groaning under the weight of his lust and the dirty thoughts that swirl in my head.

“This is it, isn’t it?” he asks me in a whisper. “This is what you want?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve always been mine, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve just been too scared to admit it.”

“Yes, Fabien. Too scared. I’ve been too fucking scared.”

“And you’ve chosen me.”

“Does it even need saying, Fabien?”

In the hallway of the penthouse, finally free of any constraint, as his lips mark my skin, we peel ourselves out of our clothes, desperate for each other. Fabric flutters to the floor around our ankles.

Looking at me, naked, Fabien lets out a long sigh.

“What do you think?” I ask him, my voice thin.

“From now on, I’m the only one who gets to see you like this.”