Chapter 5: What If He Doesn't Want Me?

Lyra stared at her phone screen, her heart still racing from the encounter in the hallway.

DarkVeil: Welcome home, little one. Did you miss me?

Her fingers trembled as she typed back.

LyraNight: How did you know I got to New York? I didn't tell you I was flying home.

The three dots appeared immediately.

DarkVeil: Lucky guess. I'm your guardian angel, remember? I always know when you need me.

Something about that response made her skin prickle, but she was too overwhelmed to examine why.

LyraNight: ...

She stared at the screen, not knowing what to say, how to even begin processing everything that had happened in the last few hours.

DarkVeil: You've gone quiet. Are you okay?

The simple question broke something inside her. Tears burned behind her eyes as she typed.

LyraNight: No. I'm not okay. Something happened when I got home.

DarkVeil: Do you want to talk about it?

Lyra bit her lip, weighing her options. This was anonymous. He didn't know who she was, where she lived, who her family was. There was zero chance they'd ever meet. What harm could it do to tell him?

She needed to tell someone. And he'd never judged her before.

LyraNight: My parents called me home because they found out I'm not actually their daughter. There was a hospital mix-up when I was born. They found their real daughter and... I don't know where I belong anymore.

DarkVeil: Fuck. Lyra, I'm so sorry. That must be devastating.

LyraNight: It is. But that's not even the worst part.

DarkVeil: Tell me.

She took a shaky breath and let her fingers fly across the keyboard.

LyraNight: My brother was here. The one I told you about. I hadn't seen him in two years and when I saw him... God, it was worse than before I left.

DarkVeil: Worse how?

LyraNight: I literally ran into him in the hallway. He caught me, steadied me, and his hands... one of them was right under my breast. And he didn't move it. He just kept it there, touching me, his thumb brushing against the underside while he talked to me.

DarkVeil: What did your body do?

Her face burned as she typed the truth.

LyraNight: Everything. My nipples got hard instantly. I got so wet I could feel it soaking through my panties. My breathing went crazy. I couldn't speak, couldn't think. All I could focus on was his hand on me and how badly I wanted him to move it higher.

DarkVeil: What were you thinking in that moment?

LyraNight: I couldn't think of anything except how his hand would feel directly on my breast. How his mouth would feel on my nipple. Whether he'd be gentle or rough. I wanted him to rip my shirt open right there in the hallway and put his mouth on me.

DarkVeil: And now that you know you're not related by blood... how does that change things?

Lyra closed her eyes, shame and relief warring inside her.

LyraNight: A very sick and shameful part of me felt relieved.

DarkVeil: Why shameful?

LyraNight: Because he still RAISED me. He's still the man I grew up calling my brother, even if he was barely around. The taboo might be gone legally, but it still FEELS wrong. Doesn't it?

DarkVeil: Does it feel wrong when you touch yourself thinking about him?

Her breath caught.

LyraNight: No. It feels like the only thing that makes sense.

DarkVeil: Then maybe it's not wrong at all. Maybe you've just been waiting for permission to want what you've always wanted.

LyraNight: But he doesn't want me. Not like that. Today was probably just him being protective, steadying me so I wouldn't fall. I'm reading into it.

DarkVeil: What makes you so sure he doesn't want you?

LyraNight: Because he's never touched me like THAT before. Today was the closest he's ever come and it was probably innocent. I'm projecting my sick fantasies onto normal interactions.

DarkVeil: Describe exactly how he touched you. Every detail. Don't leave anything out.

Lyra's pulse quickened as she remembered.

LyraNight: His hands were so big. They wrapped around my shoulders first, steadying me. Strong. Warm through my blouse. Then one slid down, slowly, deliberately. His fingers spread wide and came to rest right under my breast. I could feel each finger pressing into my ribs, his thumb so close to touching the underside. He moved his thumb in a slow circle. Just once. But it was enough to make me lose my mind.

DarkVeil: What else?

LyraNight: He leaned down close to my ear. I could smell his cologne. Feel his breath. He whispered something that I didn't fully understand but it made me so wet I thought I'd die. Then he patted my head and told me to rest. Like I was a child. But his eyes... God, his eyes were looking at me like he wanted to eat me alive.

DarkVeil: Are you touching yourself right now, thinking about it?

LyraNight: No.

DarkVeil: Liar. I bet you're already wet again. Probably have been since the moment you walked away from him. Your panties are probably ruined.

How did he always know?

LyraNight: Yes. God, yes. I'm soaked. I feel like I'm going insane. My body won't stop reacting. My nipples are still hard. I'm throbbing. I can't make it stop.

DarkVeil: Don't touch yourself yet.

LyraNight: What?

DarkVeil: I want you to go take a shower. Let the water touch you everywhere his hands didn't. Imagine it's him. The water against your skin is his fingers, his mouth, his tongue. Let it drive you crazy. And then, when you can't take it anymore, when you're desperate and aching and ready to break... give yourself what you need.

LyraNight: I don't know if I can wait that long.

DarkVeil: You can. And you will. Because when you finally let yourself come, I want it to be so intense you can't remember your own name. I want you screaming for him. Understand?

LyraNight: Yes.

DarkVeil: Good girl. Now go. And Lyra?

LyraNight: Yes?

DarkVeil: Don't hold back. Give yourself everything you've been denying. You deserve it.