Page 68 of Unmarked

But the more I build up the space, the easier it gets to breathe.

I try not to question it. My body knows what it needs even if my brain is still busy pretending everything’s fine.

Only once the bed is messy and uneven and a little bitminedo I sit down at the edge of it, my hands sinking deep into the folds.

I focus on breathing in and out, in and out, even as my thighs twitch like they’ve got secrets. The pulse between them is no longer subtle - it’s holding a megaphone and starting a protest.

Still, I try to pretend I’m fine.

Just a girl on a bed, slowly being possessed by her own hormones.

My body’s buzzing. Everything feels too sharp - too close to the surface. The air prickles across my skin like it knows something I don’t. Every nerve feels electric, like I’m plugged into something I can’t see.

And then -

Ifeelit. That shift.

Like the floor beneath me just moved half a breath. Like something pressed against my lungs from the outside.

There’s someone on the other side of that door.

There’s no sound. No footsteps. No knock.

I just know it.

I creep toward the door; barefoot, robe wrapped tight, my hair still damp and stuck to my neck.

A hot, feral mess in a spa wrap.

I press my ear to the door -

But there's nothing. No sound.

Right.Soundproofed.

Lucian would absolutely design a room where screaming wouldn’t help you.Sexy.

“…Hello?” I try, quietly.

Nothing.

“…Hello?” Louder now. More desperate. Slightly haunted.

Still nothing.

I curse under my breath and step back, brushing wet hair off my face, ready to convince myself it was just the heat cooking my brain -

Click.

Not the door, but something subtle.

A shift. A presence.

Then, a voice.

Sharp. Smooth.Familiar.

“You’re awake.”

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