---
The room had vanished.
It was just her and me.
Elira's breath caught in my mouth, her hands tangling in my hair, my palms trailing heat up her sides, pressing over fabric that barely separated us. The dare was just supposed to be a few minutes—just a tease.
But we lost the script somewhere between her straddling my lap and me forgetting how to breathe.
We forgot everything.
Until—
PING!
The system's chime sliced through the haze like a slap.
> [System Alert]
Warning: Intimate bonding session has exceeded allocated time.
Synchronization threshold destabilizing.
Recalibration necessary to prevent affection overload.
My eyes snapped open.
Elira gasped—her cheeks flushed, lips parted, chest heaving against mine. Her hands released my shirt like she'd just realized she was holding fire.
"…Shit," I muttered.
We hadn't just crossed a line. We'd danced over it.
