UNSEEN.

25°|On the edge of fire

Stefan's pov

Her breath hitched as my lips brushed the sensitive skin of her neck, and her fingers dug into my shoulders like she was afraid I might disappear.

But I wasn’t going anywhere.
Not now. Not when I’d already crossed that line.

I pulled back just enough to look at her. Her face was flushed, lips swollen from my kiss, her eyes glazed with a mix of fear and something else… something I recognized instantly because it mirrored my own.

Desire.

The kind of desire that stripped away logic, ripped through reason, and burned down all the walls I’d built around myself.

I didn’t even think. I just acted.

Gripping her waist firmly, I lifted her off the wall and turned, carrying her the few steps toward my bed. She let out a startled gasp, clutching tighter to me, before I set her down against the soft sheets.

For a moment, I hovered above her, my chest heaving as I stared down at the girl who somehow managed to unravel me in one night.

She looked small against the dark silk of my sheets, her hair splayed out, her lips parted, her hand pressed to her chest like she was trying to steady her racing heart.

“Stefan…” she whispered, almost as if she was scared to break the moment.

But hearing my name on her lips only made me lose the little restraint I had left.

I leaned down and kissed her again—harder, deeper—my hand sliding up her side beneath the fabric of her shirt, my thumb brushing against her bare skin. She shivered, arching slightly into my touch.

The sound that escaped her throat—a soft, involuntary whimper—ignited something primal in me.

I pressed closer, my body aligning with hers, the kiss growing frantic, desperate. My hand trailed higher, fingertips skimming over delicate curves that made her breath catch.

Her fingers found their way into my hair, tugging gently, pulling me deeper into her. Every little movement, every reaction, was driving me insane.

I broke the kiss for just a second, letting my forehead rest against hers, both of us breathing heavily.

“This…” My voice was low, rough, almost unrecognizable. “You don’t even know what you’re doing to me.”

Her lips curved in the faintest, nervous smile.

one that destroyed me.

I captured her mouth again, kissing her with everything I’d been holding back. She tasted like sweetness and fire all at once, and I couldn’t get enough.

My hand slipped beneath her shirt again, this time lingering, splaying against the warm skin of her stomach. She tensed, but instead of pulling away, her body arched toward me, silently begging me not to stop.

I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

The kiss deepened until it felt like we were both drowning, consumed by the heat of it. My lips trailed from her mouth to her neck, down to the delicate curve of her collarbone, leaving a path of fire in their wake.

Her breathing was ragged, her hands clutching at me like she couldn’t decide whether to pull me closer or push me away.

And God help me, I wanted more.

I wanted all of her.

But just as my hand slid higher, skimming the edge of her bra, reality came crashing back in sharp, suffocating waves.