“I didn’t—” My voice caught.
Jay’s fingers grazed my wrist, feather-light. “You always run. Even when you’re standing still.”
Roan didn’t speak.
He just stepped closer.
Ilethim. What was I doing? I was… oh, it was a dream. I didn’t have to fight it. I didn’t have to lie. I didn’t have to keep the leash tight around a body already slipping.
Roan’s hand touched my jaw, firm and steady.
Jay leaned in, his scent cutting clean through the fog. “Let go, Wren.”
Rhett whispered at my back, warm lips brushing my ear. “We’ll catch you.”
I wanted to say no. But that wasn’t what came out of my mouth. No, a very simple word. Maintain the boundaries. Keep my distance. Be contained.
That was what I should have done. But what did I do?
I saidyes.
I woke with a gasp,drenched in sweat.
Blankets kicked off. Skin burning. Muscles clenched.
The air in the cabin was cold. Too cold. My body didn’t care.
I sat up, heart pounding.
My scent waseverywhere.
It was no longer subtle. No longer manageable. It was full and heady and soaked into every surface. I could barely breathe through it.
My hands trembled.
This wasn’t heat.
Not yet.
But it was coming.
Fast.
I wasn’t ready.
For the first time since dismissing the doctor’s recommendation of hiring a pro, I wanted to scream at myself. Saying no to that had been automatic, intense, and necessary. The idea of someone else…
No. I survived those first two heats. I’d survive this one. I dragged myself to the bathroom, still half-dazed from the dream. The cold tile beneath my feet was a jolt, but it wasn’t enough to shake off the lingering sensations. I splashed water on my face, the shock of it barely registering against the fire beneath my skin.
The mirror reflected back a stranger—eyes too bright, cheeks flushed, lips parted like I was already panting. I looked like I was in the throes of it, even though I wasn’t. Not yet. But the signs were all there, screaming at me that I was on the edge of something I couldn’t control.
Already naked, because even the sheets had already been too much touching my skin, I stepped into the shower again. The water was ice-cold this time, a desperate attempt to cool the inferno raging inside me. I stood under the spray, teeth chattering, but it didn’t help. The ache was too deep, too insistent. It wasn’t just physical; it was a need that went beyond my body, a craving for something I couldn’t name.
Dialing the water up to something warmer, I reached for the soap, my hands shaking as I lathered it over my skin. Each touch was electric, sending sparks through my nerves. I couldn’t get enough. I couldn’t get clean. The scent of my arousal was thick in the air, clinging to me, marking me.
I slipped my hand between my legs, fingers gliding over slick flesh. The sensation was intense, almost painful, but I didn’t stop. I needed release, needed to ease the pressure that was building inside me. I worked myself faster, harder, chasing the orgasm that would give me a moment’s respite.
It came in waves, crashing over me, leaving me gasping and trembling. But it wasn’t enough. It never was. The ache was still there, gnawing at me, demanding more. I leaned against the wall, water cascading over me, and slid to the floor, too exhausted to stand.
