27 – The Consequences of Desire

27 – The Consequences of Desire
Ellie’s POV

I don’t remember how we got here.

One moment, I was standing in the dimly lit hallway, my breath still uneven from the way Adrien had kissed me—claimed me.

The next, I was in his room.

His scent surrounds me, dark and intoxicating, laced with leather and expensive cologne. The silk sheets beneath me feel cool against my bare skin, a stark contrast to the heat that lingers between my thighs. A heat he caused.

I squeeze my legs together, but it does nothing to dull the ache.

He’s watching me.

Lying on his side, one arm propped beneath his head, a satisfied smirk curving his lips.

I should leave. I should run.

But my body won’t move.

He reaches out, fingers tracing the curve of my thigh. “Regretting it already?”

I glare at him. “I never said that.”

Adrien chuckles, his thumb brushing my skin in slow, taunting circles.

“You don’t have to.” He shifts closer, pressing his lips just below my ear. “I can feel it.”

A shiver runs down my spine.

This is dangerous.

Being in his bed, letting him touch me like this…

I need to put distance between us.

I sit up quickly, clutching the sheet against me. “This… whatever just happened, it doesn’t change anything.”

His smirk widens, amused. “Doesn’t it?”

I force myself to meet his gaze. I won’t let him win.

“I told you before, Adrien—I don’t belong to you.”

His expression darkens, the amusement fading.

And in that instant, the predator in him fully emerges.

Adrien moves fast—too fast. Before I can react, his arm snakes around my waist, dragging me back against his chest.

My breath catches.

He leans in, voice a quiet, deadly whisper. “Don’t you?”

I swallow hard, refusing to let my body betray me. “I signed a contract. That’s all this is.”

He chuckles darkly. “And yet… you let me put my mouth on you.”

Heat floods my cheeks.

“You begged for it, Ellie.” His lips brush against my bare shoulder. “I wonder what that contract of yours would say about that.”

I shove against his chest, trying to create space. “You’re insufferable.”

He doesn’t let me go.

Instead, his fingers trail down my arm, slow, possessive.

“You keep running,” he murmurs, “but you’ll always come back to me.”

I hate that he’s right.

But the worst part?

I think he knows it too.

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I hate how right he is.

Adrien doesn’t just pull me back physically—he owns every reaction I have, every sharp breath I take, every shiver that betrays me.

I’m drowning in him, in the scent of him, in the heat of his body pressed against mine.

“You’re quiet,” he murmurs, his lips ghosting over my ear. “Thinking about how good it felt?”

His voice is pure sin, dark and knowing.

I grit my teeth. “I’m thinking about how I let you get away with too much.”

Adrien chuckles, his fingers trailing down my arm, slow, deliberate. “And yet, you’re still in my bed.”

My stomach clenches.

This is exactly why I shouldn’t be here.

I shove at his chest, forcing distance between us. He lets me go, but not without that infuriatingly smug smirk on his lips.

I clutch the sheets against my body, trying to catch my breath.

“I should go.”

Adrien cocks his head, watching me like a predator humoring his prey. “And where would you go?”

“Back to my room.”

He leans back against the pillows, arms folded behind his head, his sculpted torso on full display. Unbothered. Relaxed.

But his eyes are anything but.

“No.”

My pulse jumps. “No?”

Adrien smirks. “You’re staying.”

I let out a breathless laugh, shaking my head. “You don’t get to decide that.”

He watches me for a long moment before he speaks.

“Don’t I?”

It’s not just a question—it’s a challenge.

I should be afraid.

But instead, my body reacts to him in a way I can’t control.

And Adrien notices.

His gaze drops to my lips, and before I can move, he reaches for me again—this time, slower, more deliberate.

I flinch when his fingers graze my cheek, not because I don’t want it, but because I do.

He tilts my chin up, forcing my eyes to stay on his.

“You can keep lying to yourself, Ellie.” His voice is low, dangerous. “But your body already knows the truth.”

I swallow hard. “And what’s that?”

Adrien leans in, his breath warm against my lips.

“That you’re already mine.”

I should push him away.

I should fight.

But when he closes the space between us and kisses me—hungrily, possessively, like he’s reminding me who I belong to—I don’t.

I melt into him.

I surrender.

And I know, deep down, I’ll never escape him.

I hunger for him now.