Page 28 of Run of Ruin

“Zaffir…” I whispered.

“I heard you,” he replied, and a flash of white hot desire shot through me.

“You heard me,” I repeated. His eyes scanned my body, which was draped in that thin silk dress that was low enough to show most of my breasts, and short enough that one wrong move and he’d get an eyeful of my bare pussy.

Or maybe one right move.

“I’m sorry,” I added, even though I wasn’t. Which was shocking and surprising to me. He was Praxis. So why the hell did I want him to come in?

He looked pained, like he was desperate to reach out, but was fighting against his instinct. “Did you…” he began, but then cleared his throat. “Did you come?”

I felt my body warm, and my needy core clenched.

“Not yet,” I replied and he groaned, running a hand along his face. We stood there, watching each other, our breathing heavy and thick.

“Show me,” he finally demanded. And I felt the inferno consume me.

“I-” I started to protest, but he stepped inside, crossing the threshold of my room. His presence enveloping me in a heat that wasn’t entirely unwelcome.

“Please,” he added, voice quieter now, but no less intense. I searched his face for the smug bastard who’d once accused me of lying, or the one who told me not to trust anybody, but he wasn’t here. This wasn’t that man. This was someone else entirely, a man unraveling at the seams. A man made of need. Of want.

“Why?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Because I think your body craves mine the way mine craves yours.”

My breath caught. “Are you lying?”

He shook his head, slow and certain. “I will never lie to you, Brexlyn.”

I bit my bottom lip, heat pooling in my core. “I don’t believe you.”

His eyes locked on mine. “I know.”

“You’re Praxis,” I said, softer this time. I didn’t know if I was reminding him… or myself.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asked.

And the worst part was that somehow I knew he would. If I said the word, he’d walk away. Just like that. He’d take all this heat and hunger and ache and disappear with it.

But I couldn’t say it. My lips wouldn’t move. I wouldn’t trust him with my mind, and definitely not my life. But maybe I could trust him with my body.

On one hand, Zaffir was Praxis. The epitome of everything I was supposed to resist, the polished face of the regime that had taken so much from all of us and gave us nothing but scraps in return. On the other, my body reacted to him beforemy brain had a chance to catch up. And there was a chance I’d be dead this time tomorrow.

I was being selfish. Indulgent. Reckless, maybe. But for once, maybe that was okay.

I took a step back, allowing him to enter the room fully. He shut the door behind him, and with a swift motion, he locked it. Our eyes never left each other as I continued to retreat, my steps slow and deliberate. When the backs of my thighs hit the edge of the bed, I lowered myself onto the mattress, careful to keep my legs pressed tightly together. The space between us seemed to shrink, the tension thickening in the air. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms across his bare chest and eyes glistening as he watched.

Slowly, I spread my legs.

He groaned, thick and deep as I revealed my core to him. His eyes scanned my body and I watched as his tongue darted out to lick his lip. I wanted to taste him…After he’d tasted me. The thought was strange. And wrong. But I couldn’t stop it.

“Show me how you pleasure yourself, Brexlyn,” he ordered quietly and I felt compelled to do everything he asked.

I let my hand trail across my stomach again until it reached the glistening apex of my thighs. I spent a few tortuous moments swiping a single finger through the wetness at my lips without dipping in, and with each swipe my body convulsed and Zaffir’s eyes darkened.

Then I dipped a finger inside and moaned. The pleasure was heightened because of his eyes on me.

I pressed my finger in, slow at first, trying to savor every inch, and every moment of this charged interaction. I used my other hand to press against my throbbing clit and my two hands worked in tandem bringing me to a delicious blissful peak.

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