A Fire She Can't Extinguish

Chapter Three: A Fire She Can’t Extinguish

SERA’S POV

I should leave.

I know that.

Every rational thought in my head is screaming at me to walk away before I do something I can’t take back.

But Raven is too close now, her breath warm against my skin, her scent—something dark and intoxicating—wrapping around me like a drug I can’t resist.

She smirks, tilting her head as her fingers graze the inside of my wrist. The touch is barely there, but it sets off a chain reaction beneath my skin, spreading heat through me like wildfire.

“You’re shaking,” she murmurs, her voice dripping with amusement.

I swallow hard. “I should go.”

Her hand slides up my arm, slow, deliberate. “Then go.”

But we both know I won’t.

Not when my body is betraying me.

Not when the air between us is charged with something I don’t understand.

She leans in, her lips just a breath away from mine.

“You don’t want to go, Sera.”

Her voice is silk and sin, and when she trails her fingers down my waist, I let out a soft, shaky exhale.

I’ve never felt this before.

This unbearable heat.

This anticipation that coils inside me, making my skin hypersensitive to every little brush of her touch.

I tell myself it’s wrong.

I tell myself this isn’t me.

But then she steps even closer, her body pressing against mine, and I forget how to think.

“Dance with me.”

It’s not a request.

It’s a demand.

And I obey.

---

RAVEN’S POV

I knew she wouldn’t say no.

Not when her breath is coming in short, shallow gasps.

Not when her pupils are blown wide with something she refuses to name.

I take her hand, leading her onto the dimly lit dance floor. The music is slow, sensual, and when I pull her flush against me, she doesn’t resist.

Her body is stiff at first, uncertain. But as I slide my hands down her back, pressing her even closer, she exhales, melting just a little.

I smirk.

She’s never been touched like this.

Never been handled by someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.

She’s unraveling.

And I want to watch every second of it.

My hands move over her waist, fingertips teasing the curve of her hips. She shivers, her fingers digging into my shoulders as if she’s trying to ground herself.

I lean in, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear.

“Tell me to stop.”

She inhales sharply, but no words come.

I chuckle, trailing my lips down her jaw, just barely grazing her skin.

“That’s what I thought.”

Her hands tighten on me, nails sinking in as she fights whatever war is raging inside her.

I slide my fingers lower, gripping the curve of her ass and pulling her flush against me. Her breath catches, and I can feel the frantic beat of her heart against my chest.

She’s burning for me.

Even if she doesn’t know how to admit it.

Her hips move instinctively against mine, her body desperate for friction, for relief from the fire I’ve set inside her.

I tilt her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet mine.

“You feel it, don’t you?”

She doesn’t answer.

She doesn’t have to.

Her body is already answering for her.

And it’s begging me for more.

---

SERA’S POV

I don’t know what’s happening to me.

I don’t know why I can’t stop this.

Raven’s hands are everywhere—skimming my waist, gripping my hips, teasing the exposed skin at the back of my dress.

She moves against me like she’s done this a thousand times before, like she knows exactly what to do to unravel me.

And God help me, it’s working.

“You’re so tense,” she murmurs, pressing a kiss just beneath my ear. “Let go, Sera.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, my nails digging into her back as a shudder runs through me.

I can’t.

I shouldn’t.

But the moment she drags her lips down the side of my neck, slow and torturous, I arch into her, a desperate sound escaping my throat.

She smirks against my skin. “There you are.”

My cheeks burn.

I shouldn’t be reacting like this.

I’ve never reacted like this.

Not even with Ethan.

But Raven touches me like she’s discovering something new, something precious. Her hands aren’t rough or rushed. They’re deliberate, teasing, coaxing out a response from me I don’t know how to control.

“Tell me you don’t want this.” Her lips hover just above mine, her breath mingling with mine.

I part my lips, but no sound comes out.

Because I can’t lie.

Not when my body is already betraying me.

She smiles, slow and wicked, and then—

She kisses me.

I freeze.

And then I shatter.

Her lips are soft but demanding, coaxing mine open with sinful ease. When her tongue slides against mine, I let out a helpless whimper, gripping her shoulders to keep from sinking to my knees.

I’m drowning in her.

In the taste of whiskey and heat, in the way her fingers tighten around my waist, keeping me pressed against her like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.

My head spins as she deepens the kiss, her teeth nipping at my lower lip before soothing the sting with her tongue.

I gasp, and she takes advantage, her hands roaming lower, pressing into me in ways that make my thighs clench.

I’ve never felt like this.

Like I’m coming apart at the seams.

Like I need her to touch me everywhere.

And when she pulls back, her gaze dark and knowing, I realize something terrifying.

I want more.

---

RAVEN’S POV

She’s panting.

Her lips are swollen, her pupils blown wide with desire she doesn’t know how to handle.

God, she’s beautiful.

I drag my thumb across her lower lip, watching as her breath stutters.

She’s so responsive, so deliciously undone.

And I want to ruin her completely.

“Come with me.”

Her eyes dart to my lips, then back to my gaze.

She hesitates.

Fighting herself.

I smirk, leaning in until my lips brush against her ear.

“Say yes, Sera.”

A shiver runs down her spine.

And then—

She nods.

And just like that—

I know she’s mine.