Chapter 63: Fever Glass
Morning is crueler than dreams. Because everything still lingers. And she sees it all.
Sunlight filtered through broken skylights in long, golden shards — sharp against dust and memory. The mall was quieter now. The violence of yesterday had dulled into silence. A strange stillness hung in the bridal boutique, broken only by the soft rustle of fabric and the steady rise and fall of their breathing.
Aria stirred first.
She sat with her back to the wall, knees drawn up, shirt loose against flushed skin. Her damp hair clung to her temples, and though she tried to keep her gaze forward, every few seconds, it drifted — toward her.
Selene.
Lying across the room, but watching like a predator through her lashes.
Still. Unmoving. But not asleep.
She had seen everything. She always saw everything.
And right now, she was watching Aria come undone slowly.
The girl's thighs pressed together again. Her jaw worked — tight. Her bottom lip was red from being caught between her teeth too many times. Her cheeks were dusted rose, as though she was still carrying the heat from the dream.
Selene didn't speak. She let her stare crawl over Aria's form, her gaze languid but never losing its edge.
Aria fidgeted, uncomfortable, aware of every inch of her skin. The tension between them wasn't loud. It wasn't anything that could be spoken, really. It was thick — dense and syrupy, like the air before a thunderstorm. And Aria's breath had become the static hum of that storm. Every moment dragged heavier.
Selene finally shifted.
She sat up lazily, brushing her silver hair back with one elegant hand. Her coat slipped from one shoulder, revealing a pale collarbone, sharp and glacial. The faintest rise of her breast beneath her open shirt. Aria's gaze caught there — then snapped away too fast.
Selene smirked, slow and knowing.
"You didn't sleep well," she said, her voice smooth as melted frost. "Nightmares?"
Aria blinked at the floor, trying to steady herself. "Not… nightmares."
"No?" Selene's lips curved up as she looked at Aria, her gaze unreadable. The words were laced with something colder than her usual teasing.
Aria swallowed hard, feeling her throat constrict. Her fingers tugged at the hem of her shirt, the fabric pulling tight against the slickness of her skin. "I — I don't know."
Selene rose, barefoot and silent.
Each step across the boutique was deliberate. Predatory.
Aria's breath hitched when Selene reached her. She knelt in front of her with one knee up, fingers resting lazily on her own thigh. Close — so close — but not touching.
Aria's blush deepened. Her entire body was still caught in the pull of the dream — the weight of it, the things it had awakened.
Selene's gaze dropped to her lips. They were bitten raw. Still trembling.
She reached forward — slowly — and with one cool fingertip, she traced the corner of Aria's mouth. Her nail grazed the reddened skin.
Aria gasped — a soft, broken sound. She leaned into the touch before she could stop herself, her body betraying her in ways she couldn't control.
Selene tilted her head, her lips curling into something darker. "You keep biting your lip."
"I —"
"It's a tell," she whispered. "I like it."
Aria's eyes fluttered, her pulse racing in her neck. Her breathing quickened.
Selene drew her finger along Aria's jaw, cold and featherlight. She felt the heat beneath Aria's skin — radiating, begging, shivering. Not from fear. But from need.
Selene leaned in, close enough that her breath hit Aria's neck. The heat from Aria's body reached Selene, but she didn't pull back. She just inhaled deeply, letting the moment hang between them.
"You're flushed," she murmured, her voice like a velvet touch.
Aria didn't move. Her lips parted. She was shaking, not from fear — she was beyond fear now. Her body burned with something far more dangerous.
"I — maybe the shower was too cold," she whispered, her voice barely audible, but Selene caught the quiver in it.
Selene's mouth curled into something darker than a smile. "But it didn't help, did it?"
Aria's entire body jerked slightly, a reflex. Her thighs pressed tighter, and her fingers curled into her palms. She wasn't sure if she wanted to run or stay, but the tension was so thick now, she couldn't even breathe without it wrapping around her throat.
Selene's hand ghosted lower — along Aria's arm, then her wrist, and finally settling at her hip. Not grabbing. Just there. A suggestion of power. A promise.
"You're still burning."
Aria closed her eyes. Her breath hitched into a half-whimper. She couldn't deny it. Her body was a live wire. Her skin hummed, her heart pounding as if it could break free of her ribs.
"I don't — Selene —"
"Yes?" That icy tone was silk and steel, seductive and cruel.
"You're… close," Aria gasped, but it was more than just the closeness that made her tremble. It was everything.
Selene laughed. A soft, dangerous sound, like the chill of winter breaking beneath the weight of a feverish sun.
"I haven't even touched you yet."
"You are touching me."
"Barely."
Her thumb brushed Aria's hip. Then the line of her thigh. A whisper of pressure. Aria shuddered, her whole body tightening, every nerve feeling like it was on fire, yet starving.
Selene watched her unravel with fascination.
She was so close.
So close to tearing this girl apart. To claiming her and devouring the innocence that trembled between every breath.
But Selene didn't move.
She studied Aria's lips again. The trembling. The silent plea.
She leaned in. Their noses almost touched, the space between them impossibly small.
"I could," Selene whispered. "Right now."
Aria moaned — quiet and strangled. Her hand had moved toward Selene's wrist unconsciously. Her fingers trembled as they brushed against the coldness of Selene's skin.
Selene's breath hit her cheek. "You want it."
"I don't know what I want, I want you again," Aria whispered, her voice broken, caught between her desires and her shame.
Selene smiled.
"That's not true."
She pressed forward slightly — just enough that Aria's back hit the wall. Her knee slid between Aria's thighs. Not quite touching. But there.
Aria whimpered again. Her hands fisted in her shirt, her chest rising and falling too quickly.
"You're aching," Selene murmured. "I can smell it."
Aria turned her head sharply, her cheeks flaming with shame. She squeezed her eyes shut, but Selene didn't let her hide.
Her hand came up to Aria's throat — soft and cool, resting over her pulse. No pressure. Just presence. Intimacy that was almost unbearable.
"You dream about me again", Selene said, her voice low and almost reverent. "You wake up because of me."
Aria's eyes met hers — shiny and desperate, pleading.
Selene leaned close enough that their lips were almost brushing. Aria's breath quickened.
"I want to ruin you again", she said softly. "But not yet."
"Why?" Aria whimpered, her voice a soft, tortured plea.
Selene smiled. A cruel, beautiful smile, full of promises.
"Because every second you want me and can't have me…" Her hand slid lower, grazing just the top of Aria's thigh. "…makes this body mine. Even before I touch it."
Aria whimpered again, louder now. Her hips arched just slightly, seeking contact that never came.
Selene pulled back, her eyes glowing with control, her body still and commanding.
"Put your shirt on," she said, voice suddenly cold and composed. "We have to move soon."
Aria blinked, confusion flooding her senses. Dazed. Still trembling.
Selene stood.
Turned.
And left her there.
Flushed. Soaked again. And closer than ever to breaking.