Chapter 106

Chapter 106
Elara's POV

I woke up slowly, my mind swimming up from somewhere deep and warm.

For a few seconds, I didn't know where I was. The room was dark except for a sliver of moonlight coming through heavy curtains. My body felt heavy, like I'd been sleeping for days.

Then I felt the arm around my waist.

My eyes snapped open.

Kael was behind me, his chest pressed against my back, one arm wrapped around me like he owned me. I could feel his breath on my neck, slow and even. He was still asleep.

Oh god.

Oh god oh god oh god.

Everything came rushing back. The ballroom. The drug. Dylan. And Kael—

My face went hot. My whole body went hot.

I'd begged him. I'd actually begged him to touch me. I'd cried and grabbed at his clothes and said things I could never take back.

I only want you. Please, Kael, I need you.

I looked down and my stomach dropped. I was naked. Completely naked under the sheets. And so was he—I could feel his bare skin against mine, warm and solid.

My body hurt. Not in a bad way, but in a way that made it impossible to forget what we'd done. Between my legs. My thighs. My hips. Even my shoulders ached.

I shifted slightly and felt it everywhere. Felt him everywhere.

The memories were crystal clear now. Not fuzzy or dreamlike. Sharp and detailed and absolutely mortifying.

I remembered the way I'd pulled him closer. The way I'd wrapped my legs around him and refused to let go. The sounds I'd made when he—

This was bad. This was so bad.

How was I supposed to look at him tomorrow? How was I supposed to act normal when I knew exactly what his hands felt like on my body? When I could still hear myself screaming his name?

I had to leave. Right now. Before he woke up.

Carefully, slowly, I started to slide out from under his arm. Every movement made my muscles protest. Everything hurt in ways I'd never hurt before.

Kael made a sound in his sleep and his arm tightened around me.

I froze, holding my breath.

His hand moved on my waist, fingers spreading wider like he was trying to pull me closer even in sleep.

Please don't wake up. Please don't wake up.

After what felt like forever, his grip loosened slightly. His hand slid down to rest on the mattress instead.

I waited another thirty seconds, then carefully slipped out from under the covers.

The cold air hit my skin and I realized just how naked I was. I looked down and my face burned hotter.

There were marks. Actual marks on my body.

A bruise on my hip where his fingers had gripped. Red patches on my chest and stomach that looked like—

I grabbed the first thing I could find—a bathrobe hanging on the bathroom door—and wrapped it around myself so fast I almost tripped.

My dress was on the floor, crumpled in a corner. My shoes were scattered. One by the door, one under a chair.

I needed to find my things and get out of here.

I spotted Kael's suit jacket on the back of a chair. My phone was in my purse, which was... somewhere. Maybe still downstairs?

I walked over to the jacket, moving as quietly as I could. Maybe he'd put my stuff in his pockets.

I checked the outside pockets first. Nothing.

Then I felt something hard in the inside pocket.

I pulled it out.

A card. Heavy cardstock with gold lettering that caught the moonlight.

"K."

The target card. The one I was supposed to get for the mission.

I stared at it, then looked back at the bed where Kael was still sleeping.

I couldn't think about anything right now.

I shoved the card in the bathrobe pocket and found my dress. Getting it on while trying to be quiet was nearly impossible, but I managed. The fabric felt wrong against my skin, too tight and too rough after—

Stop. Don't think about it.

My shoes. I grabbed them but didn't put them on. Easier to be quiet barefoot.

I took one last look at Kael.

He was lying on his side now, one arm stretched across the empty space where I'd been. His face looked different when he slept. Softer. Younger.

Something twisted in my chest but I pushed it down.

I had to go.

I opened the door as slowly as I could, wincing at every tiny sound. The hallway outside was empty and dark.

I slipped out and closed the door behind me with a soft click.

Then I ran.

Well, I tried to run. My legs were shaky and everything hurt, but I moved as fast as I could toward the stairs.

The main hall was mostly empty now. Just two instructors at a table near the entrance and someone with a tablet who looked like they were recording results.

I walked up to the table, trying to look normal. Trying not to look like I'd just had sex for the first time in my life.

The woman with the tablet looked up. "Candidate number and name?"

"Thirteen. Elara Grey."

She scanned something on her tablet, then her eyebrows went up slightly. "Target card?"

I pulled it out and handed it over, trying to keep my hand from shaking.

She scanned the card and typed something. "Elara Grey, successful acquisition of Target K identity card. Time logged at 3:47 AM."

One of the instructors looked at me with an expression I couldn't read. "Return to your assigned quarters. Bus departure is at 8 AM. Results will be sent individually."

"Thank you," I managed.

I turned to leave and heard one of them mutter behind me: "Third one to get it. And it's Mr. K's card too."

I walked faster.

The front doors were heavy but I got them open and stepped out into the cold night air. It felt good against my hot face.

I made it about twenty feet down the path before I heard my name.

"Elara?"

I jumped and spun around.

Alice stepped out from under a tree, grinning. "You got it! I knew you would. How was it?"

My brain completely short-circuited.

How was it? How was—

Oh god, she meant the mission. The ball. Not the sex.

"What?" My voice came out too high.

Alice's smile faltered. "The ball? The mission? Did you get your target card?"

"Oh. Right. Yes. I got it." I could feel my face turning red again.

"That's great!" Alice bounced on her toes. "I got mine too. Ms. J—the one with the purple mask. We danced three times and she just handed it over at the end."

"That's... that's good."

Alice tilted her head, studying me. "Are you okay? You're acting weird."

"I'm fine. Just tired."

"You don't look tired. You look like..." She paused. "I don't know. You look different. Before you were all confident and decisive. Now you're all jumpy and weird."

I forced myself to take a breath. "I'm just ready to sleep. It's been a long night."

"Fair enough." Alice linked her arm through mine. "Come on, let's get back to the dorm. We can compare notes tomorrow."

Notes. Right. Because that's what normal people did after a mission.

They didn't obsess over every detail of having sex with their target.

We started walking and Alice kept talking. "So how'd you get Mr. K's card anyway? Everyone said he was impossible to approach."

I could feel the heat creeping up my neck again. "We danced. And then he just... gave it to me."

"Just gave it to you?" Alice's eyebrows went up. "After one dance?"

"Well, we talked too. A bit."

Alice looked at me sideways but didn't push it. "Must have been some conversation."

You have no idea.

"Yeah," I said weakly. "It was."

We walked in silence for a minute. My legs were getting shakier and I was pretty sure Alice could tell I was struggling to walk normally.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked again. "You're walking funny."

"I'm fine. My feet hurt from the heels."

It wasn't completely a lie. Everything hurt.

But underneath the soreness, underneath the embarrassment that kept making my face hot, there was something else.

A weird kind of satisfaction. Like my body remembered something good even when my brain was freaking out about it.

I'd wanted him. I still wanted him.

That was the worst part—or maybe the best part. I didn't even know anymore.