The Crack
Julian didn't stop her.
Her lips brushed the fabric of his trousers, heat radiating through wool, and his breath caught sharp, unguarded. His hand hovered at her shoulder, ready to push, to punish, to reclaim control. But it fell instead, fingers curling against her cheek.
"Lena…" The sound of her name was low, raw. Not command. Plea.
Her pulse surged. Slowly, deliberately, she rose, her body sliding up his. The lace scratched against his suit, her breasts grazing his chest, her lips hovering over his. Green eyes locked to gray, daring him to break.
And he did.
The Kiss
His mouth crushed hers, brutal, consuming. Teeth caught her lower lip; his tongue devoured, unrestrained. She gasped into him, her body straddling his lap, grinding into the heat straining beneath fabric.
He let her. His hands gripped her hips, not to push her away, but to hold her tighter, as though he needed her weight against him. His groan spilled raw into her mouth, unguarded, undeniable.
For once, she wasn't being steered. She was steering him.
The Need
When his mouth broke from hers, it was only for air. His forehead pressed to hers, breath ragged, voice frayed.
"You tempt me," he growled, almost broken. "God help you, you tempt me."
Her lips curved, trembling, half-plea, half-triumph. "Then let me."
His eyes closed as though the words tore something from him. And when they opened, the restraint was gone.
Not stolen. Given.
The Yield
He let her move.
Her hands slid into his hair, nails grazing his scalp as she kissed him again, deeper, claiming what he had always withheld. She rocked against him, slow at first, then harder, and his breath fractured each time. His grip clamped her hips, holding her, guiding her, but not stopping her.
She pulled the kiss rougher, tugged his head back just enough to devour his throat. His groan tore free, guttural, wrecked. His chest heaved against her breasts, and still he didn't stop her.
Julian Hart: who had marked her, punished her, owned her in silence , let her take. Because he needed her. Because he wanted her. Because he couldn't not.
The Suspension
For a moment, the world narrowed to this: her body straddling his, his mouth unrestrained under hers, his want no longer hidden, hers no longer contained.
It was dangerous. It was everything.
And in the quiet between gasps, she knew: he could reclaim control at any moment.
But he didn't.
Julian let her keep it.
Because surrender was the only truth left between them.