Chapter 272 — Noelle POV
Oh, he's angry.
Furious, even.
I can feel it in the way his hands grip my waist—tight, almost bruising. Not careless, never that, but with the kind of simmering restraint that speaks of a storm barely held at bay. He's lost the game we were playing, and now I'm paying for it in the best possible way.
Each movement is precise. Controlled. Punishing.
His rhythm is relentless, like he's chasing something he can't name. Like every push, every pull, is meant to undo the smug little smile I gave him just moments ago.
I deserve it.
Maybe that's why I arch into it. Why I press my palms harder into the floor and welcome the bite of cold stone against my knees.
The sting makes it real. Grounds me.
This isn't softness. This is need. The kind that burns from the inside out and leaves nothing behind but ruined pride and trembling limbs.
