Kissing.
Clinging.
Breathing him in like she needed him to survive.
“Damn it…!” he muttered, the curse shaking.
Finally, he caught her shoulders.
His hands were trembling as he forced a small distance between them. Water streamed down his face, caught in his lashes, and ran over his chest. His breathing had turned heavy, fast, almost unsteady.
He looked at her.
Her eyes were unfocused, glazed with heat, shining with something raw and desperate.
“Look at me,” he demanded, voice breaking at the edges. “Do you even know who I am?”
Looking at her dazed expression, Magnus tried to drag himself back, to chain down every violent desire roaring inside him. One hand wrapped around her arm, while the other cupped her face, steadying her as she kept leaning toward him, chasing his warmth.
“Sophia, answer me,” he urged, low, strained.
Her lashes fluttered.
Slowly, her gaze cleared enough to find him.
“Magnus…” she whispered.
Her voice was soft, shaking, full of need. Her eyes burned with a hunger that made his restraint snap, strand by strand.
“…Please.”
That one word shattered him in an instant.
His restraint collapsed.
Before Magnus even realized what was happening, his back hit the tub. Water exploded over the rim, splashing onto the tiles, soaking the floor.
Sophia followed instantly.
She was on top of him in a heartbeat, her knees sliding against his thighs, her hands gripping his shoulders to keep her balance as her hips settled over his.
Magnus’s breath punched out of him.
Her fingers rose to his face, slipping into his wet hair, tightening, tilting his head up for her. Droplets ran down his temples. Her lips hovered just above his — so close he could feel her breath, warm, trembling.
Her eyes were blazing.
Untamed. Consumed.
Just before their mouths could crash together, Magnus’s hand shot up and wrapped around her neck. He didn’t squeeze but he stopped her, pushing her back just enough to drag air into his lungs.
His chest heaved.
“Weren’t you clinging to Elias yesterday?” he demanded, voice dark, shaking. “And now you wantmeto satisfy you?”
A humorless laugh tore from his throat.
“You’re cruel, aren’t you, Sophia?” he growled, something teasing and wounded twisting together in his voice.
