Then burn me

Bastian's POV

The silent activity of the city blared in the distance, a backdrop to the thrum of my heartbeat. I shouldn’t be here. Not now. Not with her. But the pull was stronger than my will.

I hear my footsteps echo down the hallway, bouncing off the walls like a warning. I could feel the sweat dampening my palms, the tightness in my chest that came with knowing I was walking into a willing sin.

The door stood before me, simple, wooden, yet so much heavier than it should be. Behind it was everything I should avoid. Everything I had no right to want, yet, I am unable to ignore the pull.

HER.

Lilith Morrell. I knew she was there waiting for me.

I gritted my teeth, my hand hovering and shaking over the brass doorknob. The metal was cool, but within, I burned with the heat of a thousand forbidden desires. One twist, one pull, and I’d be on the other side.

I’d told myself I could handle it, her. That I could stay in control, and keep the boundary between us clear. But the more I saw her, the more the line blurred, faded into nothing but the heat between us.

With a deep breath, I pushed open the door.

Creak.

The sound was soft, but it roared in my ears, a reminder of everything that was about to happen and not supposed to happen. Everything I was meant to avoid. I entered.

Inside, she stood by the window, sunlight streaming in, casting a soft glow over her bare skin. She wasn’t naked, but the thin tank top she wore clung to her, revealing the curve of her breasts, and the dip of her waist. Her shorts barely covered her thighs, showing too much. Far too much.

She turned when she heard the door, her eyes locking onto mine. Those innocent, wide eyes that had no business looking at me the way they did. The way that made my blood thrum and my chest tighten.

“Sebastian,” she whispered. My name on her lips was both a curse and a prayer.

Thump. Thump. My heart pounded faster, and harder, louder. She should have run. Should have stayed away. But she didn’t. Instead, she stepped closer, her bare feet silent on the wooden floor.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was soft, breathy. A whisper meant to tempt. To pull me deeper into this unruly madness.

I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening at my sides. “You know I shouldn’t be here, Lilith.”

“But you are,” she said simply, her lips curving into a small smile that was anything but innocent.

She was too young. Too pure. And far too forbidden. But none of that stopped the fire that burned between us. None of that kept me from wanting her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

I took a step forward, closing the distance between us. My body hummed, every muscle tense, coiled tight like a spring ready to snap.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked, my voice rough. Dark.

She tilted her head, biting her lip. “I think so.”

“Lilith,” I warned, though my voice held none of the authority I wanted. It was broken, shaky, and filled with the hunger I’d been trying to suppress for months.

“I’ve thought about this,” she whispered. “About you.”

My hand reached out before I could stop it, my fingers brushing against her cheek. I felt the zing. The spark of electricity between us was almost painful. Her skin was soft, smooth, and warm under my touch. Too perfect, just too perfect.

“You’re playing with fire,” I growled, trying to pull back, but her hand grabbed mine, holding it against her cheek, her eyes wide and pleading.

“Then burn me.”

Her words felt like a crash against the walls I was trying to build to protect her. My restraint shattered, the last fragile piece of control slipping through my fingers like sand. I knew I was lost, drowning in her. In the scent of her skin, in the heat radiating from her body.

I surged forward, my lips crashing against hers with a force that should have sent her running. But she didn’t run. No, Lilith kissed me back, her fingers curling into the front of my shirt, pulling me closer, deeper.

My heart raced, pounding against my chest, matching the rhythm of our lips, our bodies. Her mouth was soft and sweet, but the way she kissed me was anything but. It was desperate, hungry, full of the same need that had been eating me alive for months.

I broke the kiss, panting, staring down at her. Her lips were swollen, red from the force of it, and I wanted to dive back in. I wanted to claim her, mark her, make her mine in every possible way.

But this was wrong. So wrong. I had no right to touch her, to want her, to need her like this.

“Tell me to stop,” I rasped, my voice a low growl and plead for her to snap my sanity back to me.

But she didn’t.

She pulled me closer, her fingers slipping under my shirt, her nails scraping against my skin. Scratching my back.

“I don’t want you to stop,” she whispered, her voice breathy and thick with desire. “I want you, Bastian.”

The sound of her saying my name, my real name, not the one everyone else used, sent a bolt of pure lust through me. I groaned, my hands gripping her hips, pulling her flush against me.

Our bodies pressed together, the heat between us almost unbearable. Her hands roamed over my chest, and my back, every touch sending shockwaves through me.

“God, Lilith,” I groaned, burying my face in her neck, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Yes, I do,” she breathed, her lips brushing against my ear, making me shudder.

I wanted to stop. I needed to stop. But I couldn’t. I was too far gone. Too lost in her.

With a growl, I picked her up, her legs wrapping around my waist as if she had always belonged there. I carried her to the bed. I laid her down gently, my body a few inches from hers as I stared down at her, drinking the sight of her flushed cheeks and her heaving chest.

“You’re going to ruin me,” I whispered, my voice thick with need. I meant everything I just said. Lilith will ruin me and I wouldn't care.

She smiled a wicked little smile that made my heart stutter. “Maybe I already have.”

Bang. The door to my restraint slammed shut, locked behind me. There was no going back now.

And as I kissed her again, I knew one thing for certain: She was right, I was already burning and only she could quench that fire.