CHAPTER 7: SHADOWS BEFORE DAWN
ELODIE'S POV
I refine myself, steadying my breathing, trying to reflect on whatever imagination had plagued my mind only minutes ago before Mom walked in. The memory alone makes my stomach knot. It sends icy shivers down my body, shudders that are both frightening and intoxicating. That vision, that spiraling thought, it brings back that brain-dizzying, possessive, overwhelming sensation that had pinned me helpless to the bed, locking me in place, smothering me with a heaviness I can’t name. It made me feel—
I pause. My eyes flutter closed, my lips parting as I allow myself to sink back into it, into that dangerously dark, deliciously blissful current. It’s heavy, suffocating, yet sweet as sin. My body trembles before I even realize it.
A shiver rips thr
