Chapter 74
Camila POV
I couldn’t look away from him.
I tried–1 really did. But Ethan had this way of pinning me in place with just a look, making it impossible to think, impossible to breathe, impossible to do anything except stand there as the world shrank down to just the
two of us.
His eyes burned into mine, dark and searching, like he was trying to reach inside me and pull something out- something I wasn’t ready to give.
I swallowed hard, my breath coming too fast, and way too shallow.
My body was betraying me in the worst possible way and he just stood there, watching me, his expression unreadable except for the storm raging in his gaze.
“Don’t you feel it?” His voice was low, raw, barely more than a whisper. “Please, tell me that you feel it.”
The desperation in his voice made my throat tighten.
I did feel it.
I felt it in the way my hands trembled at my sides, in the way my pulse pounded, in the way every cell in my body screamed at me to move closer, to close the distance, to let him into my head, into my bones, to just-
No.
I clenched my jaw. Forced myself to breathe.
“No,” I lied.
Ethan stilled.
A flicker of hurt.
A quick, sharp flash of something wounded, something that made my stomach twist–but then, just as fast, it was gone, replaced by a frown that settled deep between his brows.
He took a step forward.
I took a step back.
Another step.
And then my spine hit the wall.
Shit.
Chapter 74
Ethan loomed over me now, his body to close that I could feel his warmth through my clothes, heat rolling off him in waves. The scent of him–clean, sharp, something dark and smoky beneath it wrapped around me, filled my lungs, made my stomach twist.
My heart went wild, pounding against my ribs, screaming for an escape, hut my limbs refused to move.
Then why aren’t you running? be murmured, tilting his head, studying me with sharp, knowing eyes,
I parted my lips, but no words came out.
Why wasn’t running?
Why was 1 hast standing there, letting this happen?.
“Ethan,” I whispered his name, it was barely a breath, barely even a sound, but he heard it.
His eyes darkened.
And then-
His hand moved.
Slowly Deliberately
Fingertips grazing my hip before slipping under the hem of my shirt, the warmth of his palm pressing against my bare skin.
I gasped.
A shiver rolled down my spine, my entire body betraying me as his touch left fire in its wake.
“Why are you not doing what you do best Camilla? Why aren’t you pushing me away?” he whispered against
my ear.
ΠΗ
His voice was lower now, huskier.
I sucked in a sharp breath, fingers curling into fists at my sides, desperate for something–anything–to anchor
His lips brushed against the sensitive skin of my neck–barely a touch, barely even there, but my entire body reacted like he had set off an explosion beneath my skin.
I fisted the front of his jacket, my nails digging into it as my heart hammered against my ribs.
Ethan let out a low, satisfied hum, his breath ghosting over my skin, sending more shivers racing down my
spine.
“Tell me to stop, Camila.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
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Chapter 74
His grip on my waist tightened, his fingers pressing into my skin, pulling me against him, pressing our bodies together in a way that made my stomach flip.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured again, his lips skimming the sensitive spot just below my ear.
I
1 bit my lip.
His hand slid higher, tracing my spine, slow and torturous,
“I dare you.”
His voice was a low hiss, daring, and dripping with the hunger of a starved animal.
No, more than that.
A starved beast.
I opened my mouth.
No words came.
And that was it.
That was the moment I knew-
If I didn’t stop this now, I never would.
But God help me-
I didn’t want him to stop.
I sucked in a shaky breath, my back pressed flat against the wall behind me, trying to create some kind of
distance–some kind of barrier–but there wasn’t any.
Not with Ethan standing so close, his body heat wrapping around me like a second skin, his scent flooding lungs, his presence overwhelming in a way that made my chest tighten and my thoughts blur.
My skin still burned where he had touched me, his fingers leaving an invisible mark, a trail of fire that
refused to fade.
I forced myself to breathe, to think, and somehow managed to whisper-
“We can’t do this.”
The words felt like splinters on my tongue.
Ethan stiffened.
His brows furrowed, his hands twitching at his sides as if restraining himself from reaching for me again. He clenched his jaw so hard I swore I heard his teeth grind together “Why?” he growled, his voice was low.
my
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Chapter 74
Because you’re my stepbrother!
Because you’re a beast!
Because this is fucking insane?!
I swallowed, struggling to look away, but he had this way of pulling me in, and trapping me in his gaze.
I licked my lips. His gaze dropped to my mouth, darkening.
“Do you…” I hesitated. Then, forcing the words out, I met his gaze head–on.
“Do you even love me,. Ethan?”
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