Chapter 15: Fingers in the dark - 5
Lira slipped into Kio’s room just before dawn, her bare feet whispering across the wooden floor, cool and worn beneath her soles.
She’d lingered in the rafters all night, wrestling with herself—anger flaring, thoughts pacing, thighs pressed tight until her body throbbed with unspent need.
His words haunted her, relentless: the silver tools, the ropes, the window left open like a challenge she couldn’t refuse.
Moonlight poured through the open window, bathing the room in silver, glinting off the iron bedframe and the rough-hewn walls.
The air carried the faint scent of woodsmoke and leather, the tavern’s quiet pulse a stark contrast to her racing heart.
Kio lay on his side, fully clothed, one hand tucked under his head, his breathing even but awake.
His dark eyes met hers in the dim, calm as a tide waiting to pull her under.
She hesitated, her silver hair falling loose, veiling her flushed cheeks.
"Couldn’t sleep?" he murmured, his voice low, steady, cutting through the silence.
Lira flinched, her emerald eyes sparking with defiance, her snark a fragile shield.
"I didn’t ask," she said, her voice sharp but trembling.