Magnus’s smile only deepened at her words, like he didn’t believe a single one of them.
“Are you sure?” he murmured, his voice low, almost teasing. “You’re not affected at all? I can see it in your eyes.”
“There’s nothing in my eyes,” Sophia snapped back instantly.
Her hand shot up to his shoulder, trying to push him away. His arm was still braced against the wall beside her head, his body leaning in, his face far too close.
She pushed harder.
He didn’t move.
Surprise flashed across her face for a second before it turned into frustration.
Magnus’s hand came down, closing around her wrist. His grip wasn’t rough, but it was firm enough to stop her.
Her hands slid down from his shoulders to his chest with the movement, her fingers brushing over the hard lines beneath his shirt.
The contact made her freeze.
His gaze dropped for a second, then lifted back to her face, darker now.
“If you want to touch me,” he murmured, his voice low, “you don’t need an excuse.”
His fingers moved to his shirt, unbuttoning it one by one, exposing the hard lines beneath. Her breath caught sharply, her chest rising as her gaze flicked up to meet his.
The next second, his face dipped down and captured her mouth.
She gasped against his lips, the sound swallowed instantly as he kissed her hard, not giving her a moment to breathe. Her back pressed against the wall, her body trembling under the force of it.
He didn’t pull back.
The kiss turned rougher, his control slipping into something more demanding. Every time she tried to catch her breath, he chased her lips again, leaving her breathless.
His hand left hers and moved to her jaw, gripping it firmly as he tilted her head back, forcing her to meet him exactly where he wanted.
His lips dragged over hers again, slower this tim before he deepened the kiss, pulling her in completely.
Sophia’s hand, still resting against his chest, clenched suddenly into a tight fist. The shock of it, the intensity, flickered across her face.
She tried to pull in a breath—but he didn’t let her.
He only kissed her deeper, harder, relentless in the way he held her there.
The familiar warmth of him, his scent, his closeness—it all wrapped around her at once, dragging her back into memories she had tried to bury. Nights tangled together. The way he used to make her forget everything.
For a moment, it felt like nothing had changed. Like the past two years had never happened.
Her mind went blank.
Only sensation remained.
Her hand, braced weakly against the wall, slipped down as he stepped closer, closing the distance completely and pinning her there. His body pressed against hers, leaving no space between them.
One of his hands slid to her waist, gripping tightly, pulling her even closer into his heat as his mouth claimed hers again.
Her breathing turned uneven, shallow, every thought slipping away as he refused to give her even a second to recover.
When his lips finally left hers, it wasn’t to let her go.
