Chapter 54 - Weak spot

The room is wrapped in darkness now, just the soft hum of the city outside the window, the jazz long since faded, the candles extinguished by time and breath and movement. Only the scent lingers, amber, smoke, sweat, skin. We moved to the bedroom like an orchestrated dance, with each step a piece of clothing was lost. My dress was long forgotten in the hallway as Derek lifted me into his arms, my legs around his waist, while I pulled his shirt off of his shoulder and dropped it to the floor. My hands were grabbing onto his shoulder like I was holding myself on the edge of a cliff... holding for dear life.

He laid me down like something sacred. Not fragile, no. I’ve never been that. But reverent. Like he knew I could ruin him and still wanted to be ruined. The sheets were cool against my back, silk sliding beneath silk, but his body was heat and gravity, anchoring me to a moment I didn’t plan to want. Every touch felt precise, like he already knew me beneath the surface. Like he wasn’t