....5....
....Sapphire Savvron....
Sapphire; No seriously, who sleeps peacefully in the arms of a murderer?
I hadn't even opened my eyes yet, but the memories of yesterday crawled over my skin.
The diner. The blood. His voice. His hands guiding mine to the knife. I should have woken up screaming. I should have run to the police.
Instead, I lay still, clutching the pillow like it was my lifeline. For a fleeting second, I allowed myself to feel safe.
A horrible, traitorous relief settled in my chest. At least I'm still alive.
I tightened my hold on the pillow, burying my face against it. That's when something strange pierced through my haze.
My pillow was hard.
I frowned, half-asleep fingers trailing along the surface, up and down, and it breathed. The steady, warm rise and fall under my hand froze me in place.
My eyes snapped open.
I wasn't hugging a pillow, I was hugging him.
The same man who had smiled at me with blood on his hands. The man who had kissed my temple after making me an accomplice.
Before I could snatch my hand away, his fingers wrapped around mine, right where it rested against the firm line just below his waistband.
"You're touchy when you're sleeping," he murmured, his tone low and laced with amusement. I ripped my hand back like I'd touched a live wire and stumbled off the bed so fast I almost tripped over my own feet.
My back slammed into the wardrobe with a loud thud.
He didn't flinch.
He was lying on his side, head propped up on one hand, the other draped lazily where my hand had been seconds ago. His dark eyes tracked my every move, like a predator enjoying the panic of its prey.
"Good morning, doll," he said softly, voice like velvet, like this was normal.
"W...What the hell are you doing here?" My voice cracked, trembling as much as my knees. He didn't answer right away. He studied me, unbothered, that slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He looked like sin stretched across my bed, hair slightly tousled, t-shirt clinging to his body.
"You were the one who clung on to me." he said finally, his tone teasing, almost lazy. "Then you wake up and act like I'm the intruder." He was an intruder, no matter how he put it.
I swallowed hard, the heat of humiliation battling the cold rush of terror through my veins. "You are the intruder," I whispered.
His smile widened a fraction, slow and dangerous.
"Hmm. Maybe." He swung his legs off the bed and leaned forward slightly, forearms resting on his knees. "But I don't remember you screaming or chasing me out."
I wanted to deny it, I wanted to shout, to push him away, to reclaim the tiny room he'd stolen. But all I could do was press my trembling hands to the edge of the wardrobe, trying to steady my uneven breaths.
Every movement he made felt calculated. The subtle flex of his hands. The unhurried tilt of his head. The way his eyes dipped, just briefly, to my lips before meeting my gaze again.
It made my skin burn. Not with desire, but with the horrifying awareness of being seen.
"Stay away from me," I said, though it came out as more of a plea than a demand.
He rose to his full height, taking two unhurried steps toward me. My heart thundered violently.
"You say that," he murmured, voice dropping low "but you're still shaking." His eyes lingered on my trembling hands, and his smirk deepened. "And I can't tell if you're scared or..."
"I'm scared." I spat, forcing the word past my dry throat. He chuckled, low and genuine. "Good. Fear keeps you honest."
I sidestepped toward the corner, trying to put the bed between us, but he mirrored the movement like we were dancing and he was leading.
"You really let your guard down around me," he said softly, almost musing to himself. "Sleeping like a baby in my arms… after everything you saw me do."
"I didn't..." I choked on the words. I didn't want to admit it, didn't want to give him that power.
But he already had it.
Ezra reached the bedframe and leaned against it casually, his long fingers brushing the rumpled sheets where I'd unknowingly shared a night with him. "I could get used to that."
"Please leave me alone." I pleaded choking on my breath. "You don't belong here," I whispered.
His head tilted, amusement flashing in his eyes. "Oh, I disagree. I think I fit perfectly."
Then he moved again slowly, until the gap between us shrank to just a few feet.
My knees wobbled, back pressing into the wall. There was nowhere left to go. His hand lifted and brushed a strand of hair away from my face. My entire body locked, shivering under the ghost of his touch.
"You flinch like a skittish kitten," he said softly. "But you don't tell me to stop."
I wanted to scream stop. I wanted to shove him away. But my throat had closed up, trapped somewhere between terror and a strange, unwelcome awareness of him.
His thumb skimmed the line of my jaw, and my breath caught.
"I can feel your heart racing," he murmured, leaning in just close enough that his breath fanned across my ear. "It's beating so fast." He was fascinated by it, as if the sheer thought of me being scared of gave him some kind of feeling.
"Please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Please what, doll?"
"Please leave…" My words shook, pathetic even to my own ears. He hummed in mock consideration. "I could leave. But then who's going to keep you safe from all the other monsters out there?"
"I don't need.."
He cut me off by leaning closer, his nose almost brushing mine. "You needed me last night. And I liked holding you. I liked how you trembled, but still clung to me."
My nails dug into the wall behind me, my legs threatening to give out. His proximity was suffocating, Why the hell did I fall asleep yesterday?
"The thought of you clinging on to another man bothers me, so I'll be staying close to you now, doll." What the fuck was he saying?
"It is none of your business who I cling on to." I whispered, forcing the words out despite the tremor in my voice. He leaned back, his head tilted, his lips twitched "You think so?"
"i think you need me though." He said, hand casually resting against his chin.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry "You're delusional."
"Mm, maybe," he hummed, his voice dripping with amusement. "But delusional men don't have little kittens trembling against the wall like this." His tone daring me to say something.
But my mouth wouldn't open and my mind couldn't think
My mind scrambled for a thought, any thought, anything to save me.
Just as I thought that, someone knocked on the door and my heart stopped.