Page 12 of Burn it Down

He stops in front of me, and the heat rolls off him in waves. His breath is shallow. His big hands twitch like he’s holding himself back.

“I said take it off,” he snaps, and I can hear the absolute desperation in his voice. He doesn’t like seeing me in this dress wrapped up like a present for another man to unwrap. Something about that thought gives me satisfaction.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I whisper, my voice shaking. “You left me.”

“You think I wanted to?” His voice cracks.

“You did. You left, and you didn’t come back.”

“I had to.”

“Youchoseto leave without telling me.”

He glares at me, and I shake my head. I’m not doing this. He needs to fix the Matthew situation and then we can talk about if I forgive him for leaving me here.

I turn to walk away, but his hand curls around my waist. He spins me back toward him and pins me with a stare so intense it steals the air from my lungs.

His fingers drop to the zipper at my back. “Last chance.”

“Riven, I don't have anything on under here.” My words come out more high-pitched than I would like, but the way he’s looking at me tells me that I’m about to be standing here in my panties.

His eyes flash at my words and he rips the zipper down so roughly that it breaks.

The fabric rips as it moves over my skin and pools at my feet.

I’m left in a pair of pale lace panties. This is the first time Riven, or anyone for that matter, has seen me naked.

Riven doesn’t move. His breath catches before it’s suddenly loud and ragged like he’s been punched. His eyes drink me in, but they don’t move over me quickly. They linger. He’s not just looking at me. He’s consuming me. Like this is what he’s starved for, and someone’s finally dropped his first meal in years.

I shiver, not from the cold, but from the heat of his stare. My nipples harden in the sudden rush of air, but the moment his gaze drops to them, the chill disappears.

His chest rises like he’s struggling to breathe.

“Fuck,” he breathes.

I can’t take it, I’m embarrassed and move my arms to cover my chest. He’s having none of it because his hand lifts, tentative for a second, like he doesn’t trust himself. Then he moves my hands away and cups my breast. His warm, broad palm molds around the softness of my skin. The tension inside him breaks and his mouth parts slightly. He lets out a broken, reverent sound, like he’s finally holding something he’s spent years dreaming about but never thought he’d touch.

I try not to react, but it’s impossible. My body arches slightly into his palm like it’s starving too. Every part of me that’s been numb flickers back to life. He curses again, louder this time, and pinches my nipple. Just once at first, then again and again like it’s addictive.

Like I’m his and I could never belong to anyone else.

My thighs squeeze together, instinctive and aching for more of this. Heat licks up my spine. My knees threaten to buckle. No one’s ever touched me like this and I should stop him.

I should shove him away. Call him cruel. Tell him he doesn’t deserve this, not after leaving me broken. Instead, I stand there and let him burn me alive. Riven’s jaw flexes, his eyes glued to where his fingers are rolling and pulling and exploring me like he’s trying to memorize the feeling with every nerve in his body.

“You’re perfect,” he murmurs, almost to himself.

He doesn’t smile. Instead, he looks tortured. His hand trembles. Just barely. But I feel it.

Something tightens in my chest. He’s not just unhinged, he’s unraveling and I’m the reason for it.

My body trembles, and I hate that I still want him this badly. That I still need him to look at me like this. Like I belong to him. Like no one else even exists.

“You need to know that I came here for two reasons,” he says, voice strained. His hand slides down, trailing heat across my stomach, stopping at the waistband of my panties. “To get you and to end every person who kept us apart.”

I flinch. “Where did you go?”

He looks up, eyes burning into mine. “I’ll explain everything when it’s the right time. You’re still mine, Lakynn. I can see it in your eyes. Don’t fight it. Don’t fight me. You won’t win.”

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