Idiot,I cursed myself. She should’ve heard it from me, not pieced it together.Stupid. You’re so fucking stupid, Ras!
Mid-mental tirade, her hands, warm, soft, and real, cupped my face. I blinked, stunned, as she leaned in, her face etched in mystical mirth.
“Wanna know a secret?” she murmured against my skin, making my whole body quake.
I nodded.
“Ilikethat you’re my stalker,” she whispered, brushing her lips over my cheek. “Knowing you were the one watching me? It gives me goosebumps. Itexcitesme, and I want more.”
?*My knees almost buckled.
Shewantsit. All of it. My obsession. My devotion.
Did I die and go to heaven?I didn’t think demons were allowed there.
Just when my whole world was beginning to feel whole again, pain knifed through my stomach so fast, so sharp, I couldn’t breathe. I doubled over, breath gone, as everything inside me seized with white-hot agony.
“Ras! Rasmus!”
Aniyah’s voice sliced through the storm as her arms reached for me. I twisted mid-fall, taking the brunt of the impact to keep her safe. My shoulder slammed into the hardwood, and the jolt sent a fresh spear of pain through my entire body.
“Fuck!” she gasped. “What’s going on?!”
Her panic was chaos wrapped in velvet, beautiful, frantic music that somehow soothed the screaming fire inside me. I couldn’t believe she was here. In my house. Touching me. Worrying about me while it felt like my insides were detonating.
Somehow, the pain, savage, unforgiving, was laced with a thrill so wrong, so right, it made my head spin. Her scent was everywhere, her voice wrapping around me with the softness of silk. I’d never felt this kind of exquisite torment before, with every nerve in my body being pulled taut in her direction.
“It’s okay, my star,” I managed, though my voice cracked like glass. I hated the weakness in it. “I-I… if you could g-get me the pills. Drawer…”
The words tasted of blood, of failure, but she moved.
I bit down hard, trying to ground myself through the pain, but it only surged higher, crashing through me in tidal waves. My muscles twitched uncontrollably, and I had to admit that I couldn’t hide it from her now. Couldn’t pretend to be smooth or strong. My body had other plans.
Aniyah scrambled to the desk, yanking open the drawer. “Magic blockers?” she read aloud, confused. “Why do you need that?”
I could barely see her past the blur of agony. My palms ached from how tightly I’d curled them, my nails cutting deep into flesh. I forced myself to move, to crawl, to try blowing out pained breaths with every inch.
“I’ve been taking those… since that night.” I collapsed onto one arm as another wave knocked the wind out of me, leaving me trembling on my knees before her.
Her eyes locked on mine, searching, dissecting. I saw it—a flash of concern, confusion, anger. Maybe even fear, but she stayed.
“My magic,” I gasped, clutching at the burning pit in my gut. “It only works if I make someone come.”
A twitch of amusement, just a flicker, played at the corners of her mouth, and I nearly laughed. I wanted her to enjoy this, if only to ease the shame clawing at my throat. If she could find a sliver of pleasure in my unraveling, then maybe it would be worth it.
“And you haven’t made anyone come since… me?”
Her voice faltered on the last word, but I nodded. The pain had spread everywhere now, thick and choking. My tongue was going numb. That was new.
She stared at me, jaw slack, hand white-knuckling the pill bottle. Her eyes flashed, sharp, furious, protective.
“What does your magic do?” she asked, the words low and lethal.
My vision darkened at the edges, but I fought to keep her in focus. “Nothing… that would hurt you,” I choked out.
Then I gave up. Fully collapsed. The pain swallowed me whole, and I let it. If this was how I died, at her feet where I belonged, then so be it.
Instead of letting me fade into the pain, I heard something hitting the trash can. The pill bottle? Then the soft rustle of fabric. Her steps neared.
