Blood stained my skin. Red splotches trailed across the floor where he collapsed. I sniffled and pushed up from my knees. My legs were shaking.
The door to the bathroom clicked open, and Artur stepped out. I couldn’t face him.
“I… I’ll clean this,” I whispered, not waiting for a reply. I slipped past him, grabbed a towel from the rack, and headed to the sink.
First, I washed my hands, scrubbing until the water ran clear. When I stepped out carrying the wet towel, he still stood where I left him. Before I could drop to my knees to wipe the blood, Artur grabbed my shoulder and turned me to him. My breath caught in my throat as he pulled me in, and my body slammed against his chest in one swift move.
His arms locked around me, and I stopped breathing. The towel slipped from my hand. The world paused. I didn’t know how to react. My arms were still stiff at my sides, every nerve in me alight. I felt his weight on me, not just his arms, but hisexhaustion, the desperation threaded into his touch.
He didn’t speak, and neither did I. He held me like a man who’d escaped the abyss, terrified to let go.
I stayed still, wrapped in the arms of a man who tried to kick me out a few minutes ago. A man who had bled into my hands, collapsed and nearly passed out. Now, he held me like I was the only thing tethering him to this world.
Like a wave crashing back over me, I remembered how his breath faltered and blood soaked through my fingers. That terrifying moment when I thought he might die. My throat tightened, and my hands moved on their own. I hesitated at first, then lifted to hold him just to be sure he was still here. I let my hands hover, unsure, before letting them settle on his back.
The moment was ruined when I felt something unmistakable pressing firmly against my belly. Just like that day in the gym, he was hard. My stomach twisted, and I let my hands fall. It was better to walk away, to leave him alone. But before I could step back, his hand shifted, brushing along the curve of my neck. I froze as his fingers drifted lower, stopping near the top button of my blouse.
A sudden alertness urged me to move, but the arm around my back held me in place. I lifted my eyes to him, and the look he gave was a silent warning that I wasn’t going anywhere. His arousal sent a jolt through me, but deep down, I knew he was dangerous and unpredictable. He was the last person who should make me feel anything.
His fingers brushed the front of my blouse, and I sucked in a breath. He undid the button. I shook my head as tears burned at the edges of my vision. It wasn’t pain, but fear. He paused, his gaze flickering down to my blouse, which hung open to reveal my lace bra. His grip on my back loosened.
“You’re drunk,” I whispered, searching his face for any sign.Why was he doing this?“I should go.”
My voice came out softer. Artur released my waist, allowing me to step back. I turned to leave because if I stayed any longer, I would let him have his way with me. I stared down at my blouse while buttoning it up. It was bloody. What if he was only trying to take it off because it was stained? What if I had been overthinking his actions?
Artur closed the distance like he’d been waiting for me to hesitate. To my complete shock, he cupped my cheek and slammed his lips against mine. The force sent me stumbling back, and he followed, deepening the kiss, demanding my lips to obey and kiss him back.
But I didn’t kiss him back. My legs kept moving backward, my back arched, as his hand gripped me. When I hit the bed, I gasped and fell back. That’s when he stopped kissing and hovered above me.
His gaze flickered to my lips for a fraction of a second before returning to my eyes. And I did the same, my eyes betraying me as they lingered on his mouth.
The air between us grew thick with something neither of us could name but only feel. The second my eyes met his again, he resumed undoing the buttons of my blouse. This time, I didn’t stop him.
The world ceased to exist. The brutal truth about him faded into nothing. At that moment, he was something else. I wondered what those hands could do when they weren’t built for destruction.
Artur removed my top. My skin burned under his gaze, the intensity in his expression making my breath hitch. He wasn’t rushing. He was taking his time, drinking me in like I was some delicious wine.
A shiver ran down my spine as his fingers ghosted over the bra strap, slipping beneath it. He could tear it away in a heartbeat, but he hesitated. He was waiting. I realized he wasn’t taking; hewanted me to give.
I gulped. “You’re drunk… are you going to hurt me?” I wanted to feel, but feared surrendering to a devil.
His hunger was unmistakable, eyes brimming with desire. His lips found my neck. A featherlight kiss sent a shiver down my body. I swallowed a moan, but he didn’t stop. His mouth moved to another spot, each kiss growing heavier and hungrier until he was branding me.
Every place he touched burned. His hand slid to my breast, kneading it. My bra felt like an obstacle. And he must have thought the same because his fingers slipped beneath the fabric, finding my nipple.
A sharp pleasure spiked through me when he touched the rock-hard nipple. His mouth replaced his hands. He bit, licked, and sucked. His tongue flicked over the sensitive peak until my body trembled beneath him. A broken moan escaped my lips, my body surrendering, offering him more. And I knew I would never be the same after this.
Artur’s lips ventured to places that no one had ever touched before. I gripped the sheets beneath me for support, trying to steady myself as his hands worked their way over my skin.
He trailed lower, leaving a heated path toward my navel. My skirt slipped up, exposing me. I lifted my hips as he unzipped it. His eyes met mine, and his hands settled on my hips, pulling me toward him. He lowered himself, his mouth lingering near the edge of my panties.
The hands that had taken lives with ruthless precision now moved tenderly over my skin, making me crave every touch. His grip tightened on my thighs, forcing them apart. Artur placed a kiss against my panties. I felt wanted. When his fingers found their way inside me, rubbing, pinching, teasing, I lost it, unable to hold myself up any longer. He gripped the waistband of my underwear and peeled them off, and I let him, desperate to feelmore. The room seemed to close in around us as he sank to one knee in front of me, positioning himself between my legs. Without hesitation, he licked a slow, deliberate line over my sex.
A moan escaped me. He forced my thighs wider as his tongue worked over me with masterful precision. He bit down on my clit, and my body jerked, a cry of pleasure spilling from my lips.
The feeling was almost too much to handle. Stars danced behind my eyes as his tongue pressed deeper, moving with an unrelenting rhythm that had me trembling beneath him. I hoped he wouldn’t stop.
He replaced his tongue with his finger, slipping inside me with a torturous slowness. He sucked, kissed, and devoured me, his finger pushing me toward the edge of insanity.