Close enough to burn
1254 Words
Ivy was burning.
She could feel it…heat coiling through her body, sinking into her bones, wrapping around her like a slow, suffocating fire.
Her back arched against silk sheets, her breath coming in soft, ragged gasps!
She stirred as she heard a voice…low and dark…murmuring against her throat.
"You are mine, Ivy."
Her body tensed as lips ghosted over the skin along her thigh, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her.Hot breath fanned her sensitive area and she couldn't help but let out a moan involuntarily.
Her fingers curled into the sheets, her heart pounding against her ribs.
She couldn't see his face. Only the sharp cut of his jaw, the gleam of silver eyes burning into hers.
Axel.
She knew she should stop. Knew this was wrong.
Her stepbrother between her legs in the middle of the night?
But she couldn't pull away.
His lips found her weak spot, claiming, consuming. Her world tilted…
And then… there was blood. Too much blood!
She jerked awake!
Her body was damp with sweat, her heart slamming so hard she thought it might burst from her chest.
What the actual f**k?
Ivy sucked in a sharp breath, staring at the ceiling.She could still feel him though.
The touch of his skin, his breath against hers…and the overflowing blood… like a river of it! Dark, crimson…
Shit.
This was bad.
She shoved the sheets off her overheated skin, trying to shake the lingering ache, the terror all at once. Maybe she was just going crazy. Maybe this place was messing with her head.
Or maybe it was him.
Axel.
She groaned, running a hand through her hair. This wasn't happening. She wasn't going to be that girl…the one who had f****d up fantasies about the one guy she absolutely couldn't have. Damn, it was her brother for f***s sake!
And the blood? She never was a horror enthusiast!
“ Ivy, what's wrong with you? ”
She needed air.
Throwing on a sweater, she padded barefoot into the hallway, the cold marble sending a shock through her overheated body.
The mansion was dead silent, the shadows stretching too long. It was too silent to be precise. No creaks. No distant hum. Just absolute stillness, like the house itself was holding its breath.
New house. New life. It made sense that everything felt off.
Still, she had barely slept. Not with him so close.
Axel's room was just down the hall.
Not that it mattered.Not that she could go knock at his door and be chit chatting!
She shoved the thought away with a slap on her cheek!
She turned her thoughts back to her room.Her suitcase was still half unpacked, and there was no way she would be able to sleep anytime soon.
Maybe a late night walk out in the gardens would clear her thoughts.She pulled her door shut and kept moving.
Every painting along the way seemed to watch her, their dark, brooding eyes following her every step.
Her feet faltered as she tried to hurry out of there!
She rounded a corner and then slammed into something solid.
Axel.
His hands shot out, gripping her shoulders to steady her as her breath caught.
Then his hands gripped her waist. Firm!
Ivy gasped, her fingers instinctively clutching at the hard muscle beneath her palms.
Her breath caught as she tried to look up, to meet his gaze but it froze as soon as it reached his navel.He was shirtless.
Fuck!
She almost stumbled but he caught her.
Her stomach clenched at the sight of his lean muscle, his porcelain skin, at the way his abs tightened slightly under her accidental touch.
His skin was cold but his eyes held fire. Even in the darkness of the hall,his silver eyes gleamed unnaturally, cutting through the shadows.
His jaw ticked. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I…” Ivy swallowed, her voice embarrassingly breathless. “Couldn't sleep.”
Axel's grip didn't loosen.
Neither of them moved.
She knew she should step back. Knew she should break the tension.But she didn't.
Neither did he.
Her fingers twitched against his skin, and Axel's breath hitched.
Just slightly.
Almost unnoticeable.
But she noticed.
A muscle in his jaw flexed before he suddenly released her, stepping back like she burned him.
His eyes flicked to the neckline of her sweater, where her pulse was racing far too fast.His voice was quieter when he spoke again. Almost hoarse.
“Go back to bed, Ivy.”
She lifted her chin. “Make me.”
It was reckless. Stupid. But she was still half drunk on that dream…on the way he touched her, on the way his silver eyes devoured her.
Damn! Liquid warmth pooled between her legs just at the thought of it! What was she thinking?
Axel exhaled slowly, as if trying to control something. Then, before she could react, he reached forward…
And grabbed her wrist.
Heat shot through her, but it wasn't his heat. It was hers.Because he was still too f*****g cold.
Ivy crossed her legs for balance because he was making her senses tingle in places he had touched her in her dream. But she barely had time to enjoy those sensations before he was tugging her back towards her room.
Her pulse skyrocketed. “What the…”
He pushed open her door and stepped inside.
Ivy took a step back.
Axel took one forward.
The room suddenly felt too small.
He was too close.
Too much.
Her back hit the edge of the dresser, the cool wood grounding her just enough to realize…he hadn't let go of her wrist.
His fingers were still wrapped around her, his grip firm but not painful. Just there.
Just holding.
Her breath shuddered out, and she hated how her body reacted to him.
Axel's gaze dropped to where their skin touched.
And then, slowly, almost reluctantly…he released her.
His voice was low, rough. “Stay in your room, Ivy.”
She should have just nodded. Should have let him walk out and pretend this insane tension between them did not exist.
But she did not.
Instead, she whispered, “Why?”
His eyes flickered…something dangerous, something unreadable.
Then, before she could blink, he moved.
One second he was standing a few feet away. The next, he was right in front of her…on top of her rather…caging her against the dresser, as she arched against it, his hands braced on either side of her.
She froze.
His breath ghosted over her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine.It felt just like the dream. Only much better! A thousand times more tingling.
“You wouldn't want to know.”
His voice was barely a murmur, but it wrecked her.
She could feel the coolness radiating from his skin, but there was something burning in his eyes.
Something that told her if she leaned in just a fraction more he might not hold back.And a part of her wanted to let that happen.
She sucked in a shaky breath. “Then stop looking at me like that.”
His jaw tensed.For a second, he didn't move. Didn't speak.
Then…he stepped back at lightning speed.
Just far enough to let her breathe again, but not far enough to erase the heat between them.
“Go to bed, Ivy.”
This time, she didn't argue.She just stood there, watching as he turned, his bare back disappearing into the shadows of the hall.
And when the door clicked shut behind him, she still wasn't breathing right.
- Writer
