The void of the room swallowed any light, making my eyes useless. Panic clawed at my chest as his hand clamped over my mouth, his solid form a barricade against the darkness. An earthy blend of pine and crisp waterfalls enveloped me—a scent that soaked into my senses, both calming and electrifying my nerves. Pressed against his undeniable strength, a foreign thrill coursed through me when I felt his arousal. This was madness; danger should've been screaming through my veins, not this bewildering excitement.
My heart pounded a wild rhythm, threatening to burst from my chest as perspiration beaded on my brow. Each breath hitched, heavier and louder in the silence. And then, his breath whispered against the tender skin of my nape, sending shivers cascading down my spine.
"Don't scream, it's me." Alarick's voice, husky and familiar, cut through the confusion.
His words were like a key, unlocking the tension that held my body rigid. Relief mingled with a thousand unasked questions. When his fingers slipped away from my lips, my mouth opened, but no sound emerged. The darkness seemed to absorb my ability to speak.
Alarick's arms enveloped me, drawing me closer into an embrace that was both protective and possessive. His lips grazed the shell of my ear, igniting a trail of goosebumps across my flesh. The chill that followed awakened every nerve ending, sharpening the sensation of my nipples hardening under the thin fabric of my dress. Desire coiled within me, heating my blood despite the cool air brushing against our tangled forms.
The charged silence enshrouded us, each breath we took seemed to crackle with the electricity of unsaid words. Alarick's chest rose and fell against my back in a heavy, deliberate rhythm. A fresh chill cascaded over me as he exhaled, his breath a ghostly caress that made me gasp audibly. The sound felt like a confession, an admission of the turmoil that his proximity stirred within me.
"I couldn't get my eyes off of you," he murmured, almost pained, "and I hated seeing you with Rawson." His voice was low, laced with a raw edge that vibrated against my skin, resonating deep within my core. It was the growl of a creature torn between desire and something darker, something primal.
In that moment, caught between fear and fascination, I detected it—the subtle shift in his stance, the slight tightening of his arms around me. It was the merest hint that his emotions were just as tumultuous as my own. Compelled by the revelation, I closed the scant distance left between us. The contours of his body, hard and unyielding, pressed firmly against mine, which felt molten by contrast.
"As long as I'm not the only one feeling it," came my whisper, barely audible over the hammering of my heart. Tilting my head back, the gesture was both daring and vulnerable, seeking confirmation in the darkness that shrouded his expression.
His response wasn't verbal, but the tension that wound tight around us spoke volumes, affirming that this inexplicable attraction wasn't a battle I fought alone. The air felt thick, every sense heightened to the point where even the darkness seemed alive with the pulsing energy of our intertwined fate.
He moved so fast I didn't see it until his lips were pressed against mine, a sudden storm of sensation that obliterated the shadows around us. The strength of his arms was an iron band about my waist, drawing me into the eye of the tempest that was his embrace. Each touch ignited sparks beneath my skin, sending warmth flooding through my veins like liquid fire. Our tongues met, not with the hesitancy of first contact but with the ravenous urgency of starved souls, hungry and desperate for the taste of each other. Weeks of suppressed longing combusted into a conflagration, burning away all semblance of restraint.
The world tilted as we stumbled backward, our movements clumsy with need, tripping over the uneven ground beneath our feet. We collided with the wall, the impact sending a tremor through both of us. It was a descent into chaos—a tangle of limbs and unspoken desires. His hands roamed across the contours of my body, every brush of his fingertips igniting trails of electricity along my spine. As if they had a will of their own, my fingers found his thigh, tracing the powerful lines of muscle under the fabric of his clothes before daring to venture closer to his pulsating hardness.