Their breaths were ragged, the sound of two bodies still reeling from the storm. Carrie was draped over Andrew, her chest pressed to his, her hair tangled across his face. His hands stayed at her waist, heavy and grounding, holding her steady against the pounding rhythm of their hearts.
The room smelled of them now, sweat, s*x, sandalwood, champagne. The velvet couch sagged beneath their weight as though it too had surrendered. For a moment, the silence was thick, filled only by the rise and fall of their bodies. It should have felt like peace. Instead, it felt like danger. Something irreversible had just happened, and the weight of it pressed hard into Carrie's chest.
Then the intercom rang.
The shrill buzz sliced the quiet open like a blade. Carrie jolted violently, her entire body te
