Lara
The walls trembled as if the house itself feared him. The windows rattled in their frames, and each heavy footstep that struck the floor sent a jolt straight into my bones. His presence didn’t just enter the room—it conquered it.
My throat tightened, dry and useless, and that strange, burning prickling started in my feet before crawling up to curl inside my stomach. My skin felt flushed, my cheeks hot. Was I blushing? Here? In this situation? No. It couldn’t be.
My breaths turned shallow, ragged, uneven. My body was reacting—wrongly, treacherously. Heat spiraled inside me, mixing with pain, with confusion. He actually came? He came for me? Someone came to save me?
No. Impossible.
But my mind betrayed me. It took me back to his hands—large, veined, strong—pressing against my thigh
