“Then cum inside me,” I whispered out of breath, but it turned into a begging, because the feeling in my center became more and more intense, pulsating with violence.

Unexpectedly, everything inside me tightened, and it felt as if something was going to explode inside me. I whimpered and Erik moaned more and more until his cock suddenly twitched uncontrollably inside me and we both stopped moving.

He was twitching under me. Once, twice, three times, and with each time I felt it getting warmer inside me.

He came inside me, and I didn't want it to stop.

But when the twitching subsided, my trembling also faded and we both gasped for air.

That was the moment when he pulled me to him and pressed his wet lips to my dry ones.

He kissed me hard, demanding, completely out of breath, while his warm cum was dripping out of my pussy.

Pain, longing, and desire became one with all the things that Erik triggered in me. The inner emptiness disappeared completely with every kiss until he pressed me so tightly against him, wrapped his arms around me so pleadingly, and buried his hands in my hair. All I could feel was him and his rapid heartbeat.

Erik lay beneath me. He was bare-chested, and I was fully clothed again. He let his fingers wander tenderly through my hair, stroking it from my forehead, behind the back of my ear, where I felt the band of the mask…painfully.

My head rested on his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat, and for the first time I inhaled his scent.

A woody, indescribably sensual note. It wasn't cologne he was wearing. It was his body scent that calmed me down inside.

“I've often thought you were a dream, J,” he whispered softly. “The kind that makes you wake up and want to go straight back to sleep.” I looked up, and our eyes met in the darkness. “But it doesn't work, you know? You lie down every night and gradually lose that dream from your memory.”

There was something sad in his voice. And I felt the reality approaching in an unpleasant way. I wanted to push it away, but the panic inside me was stronger.

“I'm real, Erik,” I whispered back, as if I could hold him in our little bubble.

“Now, in this moment.” He smiled, and there was something sad about it. “But tomorrow I'll lie in my bed, open my eyes, and you'll be gone.”

An icy feeling spread through me. It was as if I was losing him again at that very moment.

His fingers wandered from my forehead over the mask, along the edges.

“I would love to take it off. To see you for once.”

I felt my nervousness return, and with it the coldness in my fingertips. It was so sudden that it felt like a shock. And it reminded me that I wasn't J. I was Julie Blair.

I couldn't let Erik know who I was. That would destroy the boundaries I had set. Boundaries I had drawn to protect him. This damn mask was my reality. As much as it hurt.

“I can't...” I said carefully and straightened up, but he held me tight.

“Leave the mask on, just please…” He pulled me toward him again. “Please, don't go.”

I felt tears in my eyes, and then coldness shot into my fingers, more and more. Suddenly, I saw fine ice crystals forming on the car door, moving up the windshield, and...

No.

My eyes widened, and I began to shiver.

“J, are you okay?” Erik asked, leaning up to me, but I backed away.

Gloria's Salma seemed to be losing its effect, because images came flooding back. Images of the most horrible moments of my life. Images of the day when someone had had control over me.

“What's wrong?” Erik continued to ask, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn't respond to him.

“Don't be stubborn like your mother and lie down!”

The man in my head leaned over me, and my stomach began to cramp.

I got a slight nausea and more ice crystals spread under my fingers. It was getting colder around us.

I couldn't put Erik in danger. I had to get out of here.

Without another word, I pulled away from him and pushed against the car door. Erik pulled up, but I was already groping for the car door, pulling the handle down and pushing it open.

“J...” Erik began, confused.

I stumbled out of the big car, stumbling backwards.

Then I darted around and hurried across the large parking lot in remorse, clutching the bag tightly in my hands as it froze in my fingers.

“J!” I heard Erik shout and looked around one last time. I tried to memorize every detail. A young man who deserved better. Erik didn't belong in such a brutal life. I should never have met him...

God...what had I done? How had I ever thought I deserved all this? To just take it for myself?

I had destroyed our friendship.

I turned and ran, sprinted, stumbled panting into the stormy night, hoping that I would never – and yet somehow – forget him.

Chapter 66

Larissa

The rhythm of the music made me bounce up and down, and I felt alive again for the first time in a while. I was made for parties. Or rather, parties were made for me. If there was one thing I was absolutely into, it was dancing. Nowhere was I more self-confident than on the dance floor.

I moved to the beat of Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO and stretched my arms upwards.

Maybe it had something to do with the three cocktails I'd enjoyed with Julie earlier, but as long as I could still dance without bumping into people, everything was great.

Every now and then, I caught myself looking up to the VIP area above the DJ, but that didn't bring Adrian DeLoughrey back to where he'd been standing with his guys thirty minutes ago.

I turned, and a guy was standing right behind me, dancing toward me. When he got too close, I moved backwards, but he followed me. I stopped dancing and showed him my middle finger. He raised his hands defensively, and disappeared into the crowd with the words, “Today's chicks aren't any fun anymore.”

“Asshole!” I shouted after him, but he was already gone.

I was about to continue dancing, but when I turned around, I bumped into the next person.

“Now, I understand why Adrian has so much respect for you.” A young man with a brown undercut man bun grinned with amusement.