Chapter 10 Aurora #6
“Were you in my fucking house last night? You were, weren’t you?
Are you stalking me? You think because you have a nice face and a little bit of money, you can do whatever the hell you want?
Well, fuck you, Ezra. You touched me without my permission.
Do you assault women in their sleep often? Or am I the exception?”
Ezra sits back with a sigh, drapes his arms over his knees, and hangs his head.
“Yes, Aurora. I was in your house last night. When you called my name in your sleep, I couldn’t help myself. I only wanted to be near you. I suppose, in hindsight, I shouldn’t have done it. But every fiber of your being was crying out to me.
“Darling, the cosmos brought us together. I don’t understand why I feel pulled toward you or why I care that I violated you in your own home.
You’re right, Aurora. I bend the rules to get what I want.
But with you, I want it to be given freely.
You can fight this all you want, but I know you’re mine.
“I’ve been alive for billions of years, and I’ve never felt this way about anyone. There’s never been a point to my existence until I saw you. And I’m not about to let you go over one small trespass. One mistake—driven by a need I can’t control.
“If that makes me a monster, so be it. I’ll be your monster.”
A sarcastic laugh rips from my chest as a tear slowly trickles down my cheek.
“Need you can’t control? You violated me in my own bed, Ezra. You touched me while I was asleep. I dream about a lot of things and a lot of people. It doesn’t mean I want them touching me like that. Can’t you see that no matter how strong the pull is between us, what you did was wrong?”
“Do you dream about the male you’re going on a date with, Aurora?”
Ezra’s mouth tightens, jaw flexing, as the words seem to curdle on his tongue.
“Are you fucking kidding me? I just started talking to him like three hours ago. But now?” I tilt my head, my voice cutting and cold.
“Maybe I’ll ask him for a photo. A nice one.
Something to fuck myself to while I dream of him inside me—moaning his name the way you want me to moan yours. Will that do it for you, Ezra?”
The silence hits sharp. The words hang between us. Too loud. Too real.
My chest rises, and for just a second—just one—I wonder if I pushed too hard.
No. Fuck that. He deserved it. Every goddamn word of it.
Ezra suddenly rises with a dark growl and stalks toward me.
Something shifts in his expression. A warning? A plea? I don’t know.
But something in me twists tight, ancient and instinctual. My breath stutters as I take a step back. Not out of anger.
Out of fear.
And that—that—is what stops him.
He freezes, and something flickers behind his eyes—rage fading to confusion, then bleeding into regret.
A soft hum escapes him—almost a whimper—vibrating through the air like it’s holding him together. His eyes lock on mine, and for a second, he looks broken.
Ezra seems to make some internal decision, then takes a few hesitant steps toward me.
He approaches slowly, gently cups my face with both hands, and leans his forehead against mine.
His breath warms my cheek, his lips barely brushing as if that one gentle touch can undo the way he just looked at me.
“Aurora. I am … sorry. You confuse my mind and my body. I am not used to feeling this way or being this gentle with someone. Please, little lupine. I need you.”
Ezra looks deep into my eyes right before he kisses me again. Not in the frenzied way from before, but slow and deep.
My body automatically melts into his with a pathetic whimper.
But it’s not the heat of want that shoots through my body. It’s the fire of fury, and it consumes everything else. I slide my hands up Ezra’s chest, then shove him away with everything I have.
“Aurora …” Ezra’s whisper is so rough and raw that I can almost feel it claw at me, begging me to stay.
“No. Fuck you, Ezra. You don’t get to have me after violating me.
I’m going to ignore the shadows and the ‘billions of years old’ comment because I honestly don’t give a shit.
Next time you’re obsessed with someone, maybe don’t break into their home and finger-fuck them while they sleep like a goddamn monster.
Goodbye, Ezra. Don’t expect me to come back.
I’m sure there are other shops in the area.
And if not? I’ll order from . At least it doesn’t sneak into my fucking bedroom. ”
I should hate him. I do hate him. But my body’s still trembling for him.
And that pisses me off more than anything else.
As angry as I am, I notice something shift in Ezra, making him look almost humble. Before I have too much time to feel anything other than white-hot rage, I turn on my heels and walk toward the exit.
As I reach for the door handle, Ezra gently grabs my arm and pulls me toward him, so we’re face to face.
He looks … sad. Genuinely sad. And for the briefest second, something in me wavers.
No.
Don’t you dare feel sorry for him. Don’t you fucking dare.
His arms wrap around my waist, body curling in close, and something about it feels … lonely. Like he’s been waiting for this longer than he knows how to admit. Cinnamon and pine invade my senses while the warmth of his body somehow cools my rage.
“I am so sorry, Aurora. You’re right. I take what I want.
I always have. And when I do not get it, I move on without another thought.
But you?” Ezra exhales sharply, shaking his head.
“I don’t want to move on from you. I will wait, little lupine.
For as long as it takes. Days, years, centuries—it makes no difference to me.
Take your time. Fight it. But I will be here.
Waiting. Ready to pick up where we left off. ”
Suddenly, the world goes black. A cold hush sweeps through the shop, pressing against my skin. Then, an echoing whisper burrows deep in my mind.
“Run as far as you need to, little lupine. I’ll still be yours.”
The shadows pulse, and when I blink, he’s gone. Like he never existed in the first place. But I can still feel the breath he left on my neck, and his voice still hums through my bones.
The scent of books vanishes—torn from my lungs like a dream I wasn’t ready to wake from. Crisp autumn air rushes in, shoving the emptiness down my throat.
The sound of rustling pages fades. No, shifts. Twisting midair until it becomes rustling leaves.
I stagger, sneakers scuffing the pavement. My hands grasp at nothing.
I’m outside.
I don’t remember leaving.
“What the fuck?!” I scream toward the dark, moonless sky.
Part of me is insanely furious about his blatant violation of my body, but another part, admittedly a bigger part, is furious because Ezra fucked up something that could have been amazing.
He seems certain I’ll come crawling back to him.
Like hell I will.
Setting aside the fact that he broke into my home, Ezra is clearly insane.
He thinks he’s billions of years old? I mean, yeah, he’s older than me by a few years, but a billion-year age gap is ridiculous.
Now the shadows? I can’t explain that.
Maybe it’s a shared delusion? What’s the term? Folie á deux?
I don’t know and I don’t care.
It’s time to put this strange brief chapter behind me and focus on more important things, like my virtual shop proposal and my date with Jameson.
Ezra Aster is nothing. A mistake. A fever dream.
And worst of all?
I still want him.
Every fucked-up, brutal, goddamn perfect piece of him.