Eleanor
The silence in the car was louder than anything Adrian could ever blast through the speakers. I kept my gaze pinned on the window, pretending the passing buildings and the sunlit streets were fascinating, pretending like I wasn’t just an inch away from Liam or our bodies weren’t brushing against each other two seconds ago.
His scent was all over the damn seat. Warm, sharp, faintly spiced with sothing I couldn’t na but had no business slling that good.
I hated this.
I hated how close he was and how good he slled.
I hated that I could feel the heat crawling up my neck like a rising tide. Hated that my skin felt flushed beneath the layers I wore. That I was beside him in this damn cramped car and it wasn’t bothering him the way it was ssing with .
My jaw clenched as I lted a little further into the door, trying to put space between us before I did sothing stupid. Like lean in instead of away.
God, what is wrong with ?
My fingers instinctively reached for the wig on my head at the thought, sliding it off and hoping it might cool the scorching heat pressing down on .
Unfortunately it didn’t and the AC wasn’t even helping matters and just as if fate decided to toy with , the whole world started to tilt.
Dammit. Whatever that creep put in my drink must have been really strong to ss with this much.
But then again...this wasn’t my real body so my tolerance now is probably garbage.
I blinked hard, and a sharp sting flared across my eyes—like tiny shards of glass scraping against my pupils.
Damn contacts.
I hissed under my breath as the discomfort spiked, the lenses clinging to my eyes like dried glue and every blink making it incredibly worse. My fingers twitched toward my face, shaky as I dragged the lenses towards my lash line, carefully pinching one out, then the other, flicking both onto the car floor without a second thought.
The relief was instant, but it ca with a blur—the edges of the world softening like it was fading out just as fast as I was.
My pulse pounded in my ears, and I felt like I was floating just outside my body, watching everything from behind glass.
Without thinking, I reached for my head with a low groan letting my fingers thread through my hair as I tried to massage my head softly—anything to ground myself, to think straight. But it seed even my thoughts were slippery at the mont.
"Oh fuck..." I breathed barely recognizing my own voice. It sounded slurred and heavy like my tongue was too big for my mouth.
Who knows what that psycho would have done to if this drug kicked in while I was still with him?
The thought alone made my skin crawl...to think he’s probably done this to other girls too. If I had the chance, I’d sink a knife in his neck without giving it a second thought.
Or better, I’ll cut off his legs and arms and watch him bleed to death.
That’s definitely better. Maybe in his next life he’ll think twice before going after little girls.
Suddenly, I caught sothing shift in the corner of my eye—scratch that—I felt the shift before I even saw it coming. It was Liam, leaning forward with concern etched into his stupidly handso face, and for a second, a tiny split second, I thought I wanted him closer. Needed him closer. But that thought was dangerous.
Extrely dangerous.
I couldn’t have him closer.
Not him.
And definitely not now.
I slapped his hand away before it could touch , my fingers trembling and my palm grazing his wrist harder than I intended to. But the mont our skin made contact, the heat surged.
My breath caught and my heart skipped a beat—or maybe two.
"Don’t fucking touch ," my voice trembled, but at least there was steel underneath it.
I pushed him away—not because I was mad at him or anything, but because I didn’t trust myself.
Because I was scared of what I’d do if I let him touch .
Then suddenly, it all clicked.
The fuzzy thoughts, the heat, the raw pulse of desire that I suddenly felt. The way even the sound of his voice seed to curl into my spine. My heavy head. My dry mouth.
An aphrodisiac.
That son of a bitch gave an aphrodisiac.
Panic clawed at my throat, but my body didn’t listen. The heat was winning.
Forget chopping that psycho’s body parts, I’m gonna incinerate that excuse of a man.
Every breath felt heavier, shallower and before I knew it, my head had slumped against Liam’s chest as he pulled closer, and this ti...I didn’t fight it.
And I know I should have.
I know I should’ve scread or yelled at him...but I couldn’t.
My strength was slipping, dissolving with every breath that touched his skin.
And the worst part was....
He felt safe.
And I hated that.
I hated how right it felt. I hated that I noticed how soft his shirt felt beneath my cheek, how steady his arms were around . I hated how my skin betrayed , how I leaned into him despite the alarm bells ringing in my head and I loathed how he made the ache in my chest slow...just a little.
I wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to want—
Stop. Stop thinking.
But then...
Then my eyes t his.
And just like that, everything stopped.
His blue eyes were wide, frozen, searching mine like he was trying to figure out what the hell was going on inside —and there was a second—just a tiny one—where I saw sothing shift in him too. The way he froze, like the air had been knocked out of him. Like he felt it too.
And that terrified more than anything else.
Because this wasn’t .
And yet, God help , so part of still wanted to fall into it.
My gaze dropped to his lips as he murmured sothing I couldn’t quite catch. It was like his words floated past , weightless and slow, slipping through the haze in my head before I could hold onto them. And then—without even realizing it—I reached up, brushing my fingers against his lips.
They felt so soft. Softer than I expected. Like clouds...or velvet. Or maybe marshmallows? Way softer than the rest of him, that was for sure. My brain was fuzzy, sticky with thoughts I couldn’t swat away. Thoughts about how they’d taste. If they’d lt into mine. If maybe, just maybe, my head would finally stop spinning if I could just...
"Uh oh. She’s losing it." Adrian’s voice broke through the fog, quiet but sharp enough to slice through the cotton-candy ss in my head.
Crap. Now I’m thinking of way sweets. Why the hell am I thinking of sweets?
I should’ve been embarrassed by my behavior. I probably was embarrassed. Sowhere under all the heat crawling across my skin. But apparently I was too busy paying attention to Liam’s ridiculously handso face to even feel anything, and my thoughts just kept swimming toward him, like a moth to a really, really hot fla.
"You know..." My fingers were still touching him, and I felt him tense—like a breath held too long. "This is all your fault." My voice barely sounded like mine. All breath and tremble. Distant.
"If you would’ve just co get sooner, then I... I..." The words slipped like water through my hands. I didn’t know where I was going with that sentence, but it felt important sohow.
I think.
"I think it’s best if you stopped talking for now, hmm?"
Liam’s hand wrapped around mine, gentle but firm, peeling my fingers away from his face. There was a small smile on his lips—barely there—but I caught it.
Or maybe that was just hallucinating because of the drug.
"But..." I blinked up at him.
"Shh. It’s okay. You can yell at later. Or glare. Or do whatever it is that you do when you’re in your right senses." His voice was warm and careful. Too careful.
But his eyes...his eyes dipped to my lips for a split second. I wasn’t imagining that. Was I?
I didn’t know if it was or the drug but I could swear I saw sothing flicker in his gaze when his eyes dropped to my parted lip.
"As for now, just try not to say anything, okay? Adrian, turn up the AC and pass that bottle of water..."
He was still talking, but my brain...kind of drifted away from the sound. Everything felt like it was underwater—muted and slow.
My head lolled to the side, my lashes fluttering as I fought to keep my eyes open, but the hum of the car, the cool air, and the scent of Liam’s cologne pulled under and when he pulled towards his chest, my lips found his neck.
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