"Call my name," he whispered into my ears. "Say it, say it..." He pressed.
"S—Salvador," I mumbled.
"Yes," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
He roughly grabbed my wrists and raised my hands above my head, pressing me to the wall. The coldness of the wall, I felt it behind my back but then, there was this feverish warmness that radiated from his body, it surrounded me, keeping me warm. "Whenever you say my name, it makes me want to eat you," he said.
The smile on his face was neither cold nor gentle.
I wanted to stop... To stop this madness of dreaming of another man in my dreams but the truth was uglier than I thought.
I wanted it to continue... The touch, the whisper, his warm breath brushing against my skin and the intoxicating smell of peppermint — I couldn't get enough of them and wanted it to continue.
"Say my name once more," he said, bringing his face closer now.
The tip of his nose was brushing against mine. No matter how much I tried to turn my face away, it felt futile as he was everywhere. I tried to struggle but my body failed me.
"S-Salvador..." The name slipped out of my mouth before I even realized it.
The corner of his mouth curled. "Good."
His breath spilled into my mouth, both sweet and bitter at once. My wrists strained in his grip, not to escape... But because I couldn't decide if this was what I wanted.
He tilted his head, brushing the tip of his nose against mine, a cruel tease of closeness. "You have no idea what you do to me whenever you call my name."
I swallowed hard. "Then... What do you want me to do?"
His smile deepened, sharp and hungry. He let go of one wrist and slid his free hand down, slowly until it rested against my throat. He wasn't grabbing my tightly but I could feel the same pulse that betrayed how fast my heart raced.
"You make me want to take all of this," he whispered, his thumb brushing against the hollow of my throat. "And make it mine."
I gasped. I could feel every bit of his touch on my skin.
"Faster," he whispered. "your heart is racing for me."
The room tilted. For a second, I thought the floor had given way yet I was still pinned, my back against something solid, his weight holding me in place. Everything else was shifting. The walls stretched upward, melting into shadows. The air was thick and heavy, I thought I was going to die soon from the lack of oxygen. But no...
He leaned closer. His lips brushed the corner of my mouth, feather-light, not quite a kiss. My body lurched toward him on instinct, desperate for more contact, but he pulled back just enough to make me ache with the absence.
"You're mine here," Salvador said. "Every night you close your eyes, you come back to me. You can't run. You can't wake until I let you."
A shiver tore through me, half fear, half something I couldn't name. My wrists burned under his grip. My chest ached from wanting him closer, even as my mind screamed to resist.
But when his mouth finally hovered over mine again, I didn't turn away. His breath ghosted against my mouth. My chest tightened so hard I thought I might crack open beneath him. Then, at last, he closed the distance.
The kiss wasn't gentle. It was heat and hunger, teeth grazing, lips pressing too hard as if he wanted to take the word I'd spoken and devour it straight from my tongue. The world seemed to exhale around us—the walls shivering, the floor pulsing underfoot, the air thickening like it was alive.
My wrists throbbed where he held them pinned. Every nerve in my body sparked, a storm gathered under my skin. I tried to push forward into him, but he controlled every angle, every inch, like the dream itself bent to his will.
"Salvador…" I gasped into his mouth.
He pulled back only far enough to smirk, his lips glistening. "Good. Again."
And when I whispered it—his name, my voice was shaky, and I was desperate for more. He kissed me harder, pressing me deeper into the wall until I didn't know if I was standing or sinking. His hand at my throat tightened, not in cruelty, but in possession, as though he could feel my very soul trembling there.
The room melted into darkness around us, nothing left but the heat of him, the sound of my own ragged breathing, and the taste of his mouth which I'd never forget.
A sudden vibrating sound echoed in my ears. I flinched and opened my eyes. I was inside my room, and on my bed.
My phone — it vibrated again. I had switched it to vibration since last night because I hated to be disturbed during sleep.
I looked at the screen, of course, it was no other person.
"Val! Where the hell have you been? I have been calling you for over an hour now!" Chase, my friend yelled the moment I picked the call.
I glanced at the call log and realized that he had indeed been calling me for a while now. But it wasn't enough reason to disturb my...
"Have you forgotten what today is?" He yelled.
"What!" I yelled back, pissed off already. It was enough that he had to disturb my sleep but yelling over and over again is something I did not appreciate.
"Fuck, today, we are expecting our new boss!" He yelled and I gasped.
"Shit!" I cursed. "Where are you now?" I asked him, jumping down from the bed.
"I'm downstairs, waiting for you outside," he replied.
"Then wait for me, please!" I said and ended the call abruptly. I threw my phone on the bed and dashed into the bathroom to shower.
The moment I pulled my shorts down, I realized how soaked it was. I grabbed my hair and pulled it... "Damn it!" I cursed under my breath. I did it again.
This started a year ago, I had an issue with my girlfriend. It was so bad that we didn't talk for months until recently. That day, I was so angry that I decided to go somewhere and cool off. I ended up walking into this random bar and ordering some strong drinks. Minutes later, this random guy approached me, offering to join me. I didn't care to look at him or know who he was.
I shrugged... After all, there was nothing there. We began to discuss and all of a sudden, I saw myself inside a room, it was dark only for the faint red light. I couldn't see his face, I tried but I couldn't.
I tried to escape but I was too drunk to do anything, he was all over me. I tried to resist but the more I tried, the more my efforts were useless against this person — he was stronger than me.
He kissed me, touched me, every part of my body felt him. And then suddenly, I woke up with my bed soaked in both sweat and cum.
How? Just how?
I walked out of the bathroom and quickly dressed up — I wore a white shirt and black pant, and then a black shoe to match — this was our attire. After combining my hair, I picked my phone, carried my bag, and left
Chase was waiting for me downstairs.
"Sorry, I'm late," I mumbled.
He rolled his eyes. "Let's just hurry or we'll be late and you know what that means."
"Yeah," I nodded and we hurried off to board the nearest cab.
----
The cab dropped us off in front of the glass building. It stretched tall into the sky, clean lines reflecting the morning sun, too polished for how restless I felt inside. My collar stuck to my damp skin, and even though I had showered, I swore I could still smell peppermint clinging faintly to me.
"Come on," Chase said, tugging at my sleeve when I froze at the entrance. "You look like you're walking into your own funeral."
"Maybe I am," I muttered, earning myself a sharp look.
The lobby buzzed with chatter. Writers, editors, assistants—all dressed neatly, some already glued to their phones, others gathered in nervous clusters. Stacks of manuscripts sat on the reception desk like offerings. The air smelled of coffee, paper, and faint ink, a mixture that always felt equal parts comforting and suffocating.
"Everyone is tense," Chase whispered as we passed the security gate. "Guess we're not the only ones late."
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, trying to focus on the mundane: the hum of the elevator, the shuffle of shoes on polished tile. But Salvador's words kept echoing. "You're mine and mine alone."
When the elevator doors opened onto our floor, the atmosphere thickened. Posters of bestselling novels lined the walls, covers I'd passed a thousand times before, but today they all seemed to stare at me. Writers hunched over laptops in glass cubicles, their faces pale with caffeine and expectation.
"There." Chase elbowed me. At the far end of the hall, a small crowd was gathering outside the conference room. Excitement mixed with nerves—everyone wanted to see the new boss.
My stomach dropped.
"Relax," Chase hissed, smoothing his hair. "He's not going to bite you."
I wasn't so sure.
Because through the glass wall of the conference room, a figure had just stepped inside. Tall, golden hair. And even from this distance, I could swear I caught the faintest scent of peppermint, cutting sharp through the stale office air.