Bound by Midnight blood

Into the Fire

The space between us is suffocating.

Kael’s body is pressed against mine, hard and firm, like he’s trying to mold himself into me. His lips burn against my neck, his breath ragged, as if he’s fighting for control. And god, I can feel it. He’s losing it. Losing control of everything he’s been holding back.

But I can’t go there. Not yet.

I bite my lip, resisting the urge to pull him closer. To let him strip away everything that’s been holding me together. To let him claim me.

His hands slip under my shirt, grazing the skin of my lower back, and I gasp. A moan that’s half of fear, half of need, slips out before I can stop it.

“Ivy,” Kael murmurs, his voice strained with the effort to hold himself together. “Tell me you want this.”

I can’t even answer. The words are caught in my throat, tangled with the ache I feel deep inside me. I want him. But I want more than just this. I need more than this—more than a moment that could ruin everything I’ve been trying to protect.

“I…” I start, but the words die on my tongue as his lips press against mine again, hard and demanding. His hands slide further, under the waistband of my pants, and that’s when I freeze.

“No,” I breathe, my voice trembling. I pull away from him, but not far enough. Just enough to feel the cool air between us, the space I so desperately need to hold on to.

Kael’s hands drop to his sides, his chest heaving as if he’s just as torn. His jaw tightens. “Ivy…”

I shake my head, taking a step back, feeling the weight of the room closing in on me.

“I can’t… I’m not ready for this,” I whisper, my voice barely a breath. “This... is too much. Too fast.”

Kael looks at me, eyes dark with frustration, but there’s something else there too. Something I can’t quite read. He wants this. Wants me. But he’s not pushing me. Not in a way that feels wrong.

He exhales sharply, rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t want to force you into something you’re not ready for,” he says, his voice rough but steady. “But I’m not going anywhere, Ivy. Not now. Not ever.”

It should comfort me. It doesn’t.

I step away from him, needing the distance. Needing the time to think, to breathe, to ground myself again.

“I… I need to go to school,” I say, my voice sounding weaker than I want it to. But the last thing I need right now is to stay here. To stay with him, feeling like I’m drowning in everything I can’t have and everything I want.

Kael nods, his eyes never leaving me. There’s a flicker of something darker in his gaze, something that makes my chest tighten. He’s not giving up. Not even close.

“Fine,” he says, his voice quiet, but the tension is still thick. “Go. But know this, Ivy… You won’t be able to escape this. You won’t be able to escape me.”

I don’t answer. I can’t. I just turn and walk out of the room, my heart pounding in my chest, leaving Kael behind.

The moment I step outside, the air feels colder. More real. My feet carry me to my car on autopilot, but my mind? My mind is still back there with him. With his touch, his heat, his words that keep ringing in my ears.

I force myself to focus. I have to focus on something other than him.

I need to survive today. I need to survive my normal life.

But as I pull into the school parking lot, I can’t shake the feeling that the rest of my life is about to burn down, and Kael is standing right in the middle of the flames