Page 63 of Velvet Corruption

“No,” I said, more forcefully than I meant to. “Don’t—don’t do that. Don’t walk it back. We’re already here. You kissed me like you needed it as much as I did.”

“I did.” Her voice cracked. “But that doesn’t make it right.”

My jaw clenched. “You still want me. I can feel it.”

She didn’t deny it. Didn’t try to lie.

But she shook her head, looking down at her bandaged hand like it could anchor her back to reality. “I can’t do this, Kieran. Ican’t.”

She sounded like she was about to sob. But I knew when she said something she meant.

And this time, I heard it for what it was.

The end.

As much as I didn’t want her to, she meant it.

I was breathing hard, lungs burning, pulse still thundering with every bit of unspent energy. Everything in me screamed to ignore her, to keep going, to take what we both knew was already ours.

But I didn’t. I let it hang there, suspended, let it sink in like a punch that knocked the air out of my lungs. Her kissing me was the last thing I expected…but this. This I should have seen coming.

“Ruby,” I tried again, but it came out useless, no power behind it. Just a plea.

I leaned back, jaw clenching, and the loss hit me harder than I cared to admit. The heat from a moment ago turned to ice, every muscle in my body locked in place. Her hand dropped from my chest, and she moved away, like even this was too close.

The space between us was unbearable. Empty. Cold. I felt it the way you feel something when you’ve had it and lost it in the same fucking instant.

She didn’t look up, didn’t say anything else. Just left me there, trying to find something to hold on to that wouldn’t crumble to nothing the second I did.

I pushed myself up from the floor, the space between us feeling larger than the entire fucking city. My shirt lay crumpled on the floor, a reminder of how close we’d come to crossing the one line we swore we wouldn’t. I picked it up, dragging it over my head.

Ruby looked exhausted, her shoulders slumped, defeat etched across her face. The mess of our entangled limbs was gone, replaced by a careful distance that felt even more tangled.

I should’ve said something. A joke to cut the tension, make this less of a big deal. Or more of one. I didn’t know anymore. My mind was still caught in that moment when she almost let us happen. I opened my mouth, closed it, running a hand through my hair.

The silence was deafening, pounding in my ears. I could barely take it. Still, I couldn’t find the words that would make any of this better. Maybe there weren’t any.

I just stared at her, hoping she’d meet my eyes, say something that would give me a reason to stay instead of walking away. A reason for me not to destroy her. A reason to disobey Tristan’s orders.

Anything.Anything.

But she didn’t. Her lips were a thin line, unspeaking. Unyielding.

Finally, I exhaled sharply. “Go to sleep, Ruby.”

It came out rough, low and mean…and when she didn’t respond the way I wanted, I couldn’t help it.

I just had to dig the knife deeper.

“You’re in my house,” I added, voice dark with promise. “I could take what’s mine. Right here. Right now.”

I took a step back, eyes on hers, watching her pulse jump in her throat. “But I won’t. Because next time, sweetheart…”

I leaned in, just enough for her to feel the heat I was still radiating, the hunger still thrumming under my skin. “You’re going to beg me for it.”

She didn’t answer. Didn’t move.

Her silence was louder than a scream.

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