Chapter 15 Breaking The Surface

• Noah didn’t know how long he stood there, staring into Elias’s eyes, feeling as though the ground beneath him had disappeared. Elias’s presence felt like an invisible chain wrapped tightly around his chest, pulling him closer with every passing second. He wanted to resist, to run, but his body refused to obey. The pull of Elias was stronger than his own willpower, stronger than his desire for freedom. Every moment spent in his presence chipped away at the last remnants of Noah’s resistance.
• Elias’s grip on his arm tightened, and for a split second, Noah’s pulse quickened. His breath caught in his throat, but Elias didn’t move further. He simply stood there, close enough that Noah could feel the heat of his body, close enough that Noah could hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest. It was almost suffocating.
• “You’re so afraid, Noah,” Elias murmured, his voice low and soothing, but there was an edge to it, a dark promise. “But fear is just the beginning. You’ve been running from yourself, from what you feel. From what you want.”
• Noah’s chest tightened, the words stabbing at him in ways he wasn’t prepared for. Elias always knew exactly how to get under his skin. He always knew how to make Noah feel like he was the one in the wrong, like it was his fault for not admitting what was so painfully obvious.
• “I don’t want this,” Noah choked out, the words sounding more like a desperate plea than a declaration. His voice cracked, but he didn’t care. He was shaking, every part of him trembling in the aftermath of what had happened between them.
• Elias took a step closer, his lips almost brushing Noah’s ear. “You say that, but I don’t believe you,” he whispered, his breath warm against Noah’s skin. “You want this. You want me, even if you’re too afraid to admit it.”
• Noah pulled away from Elias, panic rising in his chest. He needed space. He needed to breathe. But Elias’s eyes followed him with an intensity that made it impossible to escape. Elias was always a step ahead, always anticipating his moves, always knowing how to trap him in his own thoughts.
• “I don’t want to be your... your toy,” Noah said, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and desperation. “I don’t want to be a part of your world.”
• Elias didn’t move, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, there was silence between them, heavy and suffocating. Then, finally, Elias spoke, his voice soft but firm.
• “You are part of my world, Noah. Whether you like it or not.”
• The words hit Noah like a punch to the gut. His mind screamed for him to fight back, but he couldn’t find the strength. Elias had already broken down the walls he had spent years building, and now Noah was left exposed, vulnerable, and helpless.
• “You’re mine,” Elias continued, his eyes dark with something that could almost be described as possessiveness. “And whether you fight it or not, you will be mine. I won’t let you go.”
• Noah felt the heat of Elias’s gaze on him, and it was as if his very soul was being stripped away. He wanted to run, to escape, but he didn’t know where to go. Elias had become his world, had seeped into every corner of his life, and now there was nowhere left to hide.
• “Please...” Noah whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. “Just let me go. I’m begging you.”
• Elias’s lips curled into a slow, almost pitying smile. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Noah,” he said softly, his voice laced with a dark amusement. “If I let you go now, you’ll never forgive yourself. You’ll always wonder what it could have been. But if you stay, you’ll never be the same. And neither will I.”
• Noah’s heart pounded in his chest, the weight of Elias’s words settling deep within him. He was trapped. There was no way out. Even if he left, even if he somehow found the strength to walk away, he knew it would never be enough. The pull of Elias, the dark magnetic force between them, would always be there, drawing him back in.
• “I’m not your possession,” Noah whispered, his voice barely audible. “I’m not something you can control.”
• Elias took a step forward, his fingers brushing lightly against Noah’s cheek. The touch was gentle, almost tender, but there was nothing kind about it. It was a claim. A mark. Elias was laying his claim on Noah, and Noah could feel it in his very bones.
• “You’re more than that,” Elias said, his voice low and almost hypnotic. “You’re the one thing I’ve ever wanted, Noah. And I won’t stop until I have you. Completely.”
• Noah’s body trembled, his chest tightening with a mixture of fear and something else—something dangerous, something he couldn’t name. His body wanted to give in, wanted to surrender to the intoxicating force that was Elias. But his mind, his heart, fought against it. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be. It was obsession. It was control.
• “I can’t...” Noah’s voice faltered as he reached for the door, trying to put some distance between himself and Elias, but Elias was faster. His hand shot out, grabbing Noah’s wrist in a grip that was both firm and unyielding. He spun Noah around to face him, his eyes dark with something primal, something possessive.
• “You don’t have a choice, Noah,” Elias whispered, his lips brushing against Noah’s ear. “You’re already mine. You’ve been mine since the moment we met.”
• Noah struggled against him, trying to free himself, but it was futile. Elias was too strong, too determined. And as Elias’s lips pressed against his neck, Noah felt something snap inside him, something he had been holding onto for far too long. He closed his eyes, his breath coming in shallow gasps, his body betraying him once more.
• Elias’s hand slid down his back, pulling him closer, and Noah couldn’t help but respond, his body melting into Elias’s touch despite his mind screaming for him to stop. The feeling was overwhelming, intoxicating, and Noah found himself trapped between the need to fight and the need to surrender.
• “You’re mine,” Elias murmured, his voice low and dangerous. “And I’ll make sure you never forget it.”
• The words echoed in Noah’s mind, the dark promise seeping into his veins. There was no escape from Elias’s world. There never had been.
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