Kavy's breath was ragged, her body pressed against Dante's as if she didn't know whether to fight or cling to him. Every time she thought she had a grip on reality, he shattered it.
Her mind screamed at her to resist, to push him away before she was completely lost. But her body… her body had already betrayed her.
His hands traced slow, possessive paths down her arms, across her waist, igniting a fire she couldn't extinguish.
"You're still pretending you don't want this," Dante murmured, his voice dark, edged with amusement.
She turned her face away, refusing to meet his gaze. If I look at him now, I'll drown.
But he didn't allow her the distance. His fingers caught her chin, tilting her head back to force her eyes on his.
"I can feel you, Kavy. Every little reaction, every time your breath catches when I touch you. You think I don't know what that means?"
She hated how smug he sounded. Hated that he was right.
"You don't own me." The words came out unsteady, but she forced them between her lips anyway.
His grip tightened. Not enough to hurt, but enough to remind her that fighting him was useless.
"I already do."
Heat shot through her. The weight of those words made her stomach tighten.
She shoved against him suddenly, twisting in his grip, her desperation flaring again.
"You don't get to decide what happens to me!"
His laughter was low, dark.
"Oh, Kavy." His hands caught her wrists easily, pinning them above her head. She gasped, her pulse slamming against her ribs.
"I already have."
His mouth found hers again, demanding, taking. She fought it at first—she always did—but his control was absolute, his dominance something she couldn't escape.
And deep down, she knew she wasn't really trying to.
Her body arched against him, the last remnants of her resistance slipping between her fingers like sand. She hated the way he unraveled her, how easily he stripped her defenses.
But most of all, she hated that part of her wanted to be unraveled.
She tore her mouth away, gasping. "You're a monster."
Dante smirked. "And you're still mine."
The words settled over her like a final chain locking into place. A truth she couldn't escape.
Because no matter how much she fought it
She already was.