NOAH
The sob choked me, humiliation and need intertwining in a vise.
I needed release. Needed his permission. Needed him.
"Say it," he commanded, demanding the admission, forcing me to shatter my last shred of pride.
Need won, as it always did with him.
I choked out the words like they were being dragged from somewhere deep and ugly inside me. "I'm pathetic."
Louder this time. My voice cracked right down the middle on the last syllable.
Cassian didn't react the way I expected, no smirk, no mocking little hum. He just watched me, eyes steady, like he was waiting for the rest of the confession to spill out on its own.
"I'm—" I tried again, but the sentence died in my throat. Too much spit, too much need, too much everything. "Please—Cassian—"
I couldn't even finish. The plea just hung there, pathetic and wet and trembling.
And then he moved.
