Chapter 48 - Ava Miller

Ava's POV

I could still feel the touch of Orion’s lips against my neck, the warmth of his breath sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. Even now, minutes later, the memory lingered, stubborn and unyielding, refusing to be banished.

I hated it.

I hated the way my skin came alive when I thought of his touch, how every nerve seemed to spark beneath the memory of his lips. I despised how, for a fleeting moment, I had leaned into him, my body betraying me with its need—a need I refused to acknowledge.

It was nothing, I told myself, my footsteps echoing in the empty corridor as I walked briskly. Nothing but the pangs of loneliness. It had been too long since I’d been with anyone; that was all.

I would’ve reacted to any touch. It wasn’t him—not Orion. It couldn’t be him. I despised him with every fiber of my being.