Forbidden Yearning

"More," he whispered, his voice hoarse and wrecked. "I need more."

With trembling hands, she pressed against his chest, trying to push him away. "Damien, we can't-"

"No, please." His grip tightened around her waist, not forceful, not aggressive, but desperate. His fingers trembled against her skin as if she were slipping through his hands like sand. "Just a little more, Belle... I swear, just a little more." His lips found her jaw, trailing kisses down her neck, his breath shuddering against her pulse. "I need you. I-"

"No." She pushed him again, firmer this time.

But he was relentless, not in an overpowering way but like a man drowning, reaching for his only source of air. His lips brushed against the corner of her mouth again, chasing, pleading.

"Please, Belle." His voice cracked. "I can't-"

A sharp slap rang through the bathroom.

********************************************************

She smiles like she's never known pain. But beneath the sunshine façade, she's a girl stitched together with fractures, longing for one thing-to mend the distance with her estranged brother.

He is cold, detached, untouched by the world. Nothing has ever truly captivated him... until her. She doesn't look at him the way others do. She doesn't chase him. But somehow, he is the one chasing-yearning, desperate, unable to stay away.

She refuses to let him close. He is her brother's best friend, a risk she cannot afford. This is her one chance to rebuild what was broken, and she won't let a reckless, impossible love ruin it.

But what happens when love isn't something you choose-but something that consumes you?