Chapter 18: The Paparazzo

Elina’s POV

Ryan’s lips scorched a path down my neck, his breath hot, his touch rough and unapologetic as his fingers dug into my hips. I pulled at his damp hair, tugging him closer, craving the way his body crashed into mine with such raw hunger that I felt restless with need. We stumbled against the couch, his hands gripping me like he’d never let go.

Outside, the storm growled, lightning cutting through the dark and illuminating the room in flickers, but all I felt was him—his heat, his strength, the way he pressed into me and almost burned me alive with how literally hot he was.

My heart hammered in my chest, the loud thump-thump drowning out everything but the scrape of his stubble against my throat as his tongue all but swallowed mine, obsessive, like he needed to consume me whole.

His body caged me in a protective wall of muscle so warm I swore I could’ve survived a winter night with nothing but his touch.