Chapter 55

Marshall's POV

The morning light sliced through the blinds, streaking across the room like sharp, golden knives. But the heat between us had nothing to do with the sun.

I lay there, my arm wrapped tightly around Leila, feeling the burn of her skin against mine.

The silence was thick, too thick, suffocating, like it was holding all the words we hadn't said, all the things waiting to explode.

Leila shifted against me, her bare skin sliding over mine, her fingers lightly tracing the lines of my chest. Her touch was soft, but beneath it, I could feel something dark, coiled up, waiting to snap.

She hadn't said anything yet, but the tension between us was thick, electric, buzzing with an unspoken energy that made my chest tighten.

"Morning," she murmured, her voice rough, her lips brushing against my neck.

"Morning," I whispered back, pressing a kiss to her temple, the quiet between us wasn't peaceful, it was charged, like the calm before a storm, I could feel it humming beneath her skin, just like I felt it in mine.

Leila shifted again, resting her head on my chest, but her body was too tense for someone who was trying to relax.

"You're leaving again tonight," she said quietly, her fingers now tracing slow, deliberate patterns on my skin, it wasn't a question, she knew I was leaving, just like I knew this moment wouldn't last.

"Yeah" I muttered, my voice low "Tonight."

She didn't move, didn't look at me, but I felt it, the way her body went rigid, her fingers stilling against my chest like she was trying to hold something back, the warmth between us was slipping away, replaced by the heavy weight of her unspoken fears.

"It feels like every time I get used to you being here" she started, her voice strained "You're already gone again" She was trying to sound casual, but the words came out cracked, raw, they cut through the air between us, sharp enough to make my heart pound against my ribs.

"I always come back, Lala, you know that" I said, but my voice was rougher than I meant it to be, she wasn't just talking about me leaving, she was talking about something deeper, something that twisted inside her every time I walked out that door.

She pulled back slightly, just enough to meet my gaze, her dark eyes sharp and filled with something I couldn't quite read, anger?, fear?, insecurity?, maybe all of it.

"I know" She said, her voice tight "But that doesn't make it easier and it doesn't stop this... this feeling, like I'm just waiting for you to leave, like I don't know how to handle you being gone"

Her words hit me hard, but they also sparked something deep inside me, something dark, possessive, I could feel it rising, like an instinct I couldn't control "I'm here right now" I said quietly, my hand tightening around her waist, pulling her closer "And I'll keep coming back to you"

Her lips twitched into a small, bitter smile, but it didn't reach her eyes "What if that's not enough? What if... I'm not enough?"

I sat up, my muscles tense, frustration simmering just beneath the surface "Where the fuck is this coming from?" I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended.

She sat up too, wrapping the sheet around her body like it was armor, shielding herself from me "I don't know, Marshall!" she shot back, her eyes blazing now, the anger breaking through "I've never done this before!, I've never been with someone like this, I don't know how to do this and I don't know if I'm doing it right"

Her words were like a slap, raw and unfiltered, hitting me square in the chest, I could see the vulnerability in her, but it was buried deep beneath layers of anger and frustration, she was scared, and she didn't know how to handle it.

"You don't have to figure it out all at once" I said, trying to keep my voice steady even though I could feel the tension between us building "We'll figure it out together"

Her eyes narrowed, her fists clenching the sheet around her like she was holding on for dear life.

"And what if I don't figure it out?" she spat, her voice rising "What if I don't know how to be with you? What if I'm not enough?"

The room felt like it was closing in, the air growing thicker, hotter with every word she said, my pulse pounded in my ears, a slow, steady beat that only fueled the possessiveness roaring inside me.

"You really think you're not enough for me?" I gritted out, my voice low and dangerous "After everything we've been through?"

She didn't back down, her eyes locked onto mine, fierce and unrelenting, even as her voice trembled.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm not, like I'm just sitting here, waiting for you to come back to this life you barely even live in"

Her words hit like a fucking hammer, my grip on the sheet tightened as I leaned in, my voice dropping to a snarl "You're not sitting in the background, Lala. You are my life, you think I come back to anyone else?"

Her breath hitched, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, but her eyes never left mine "Then why do I feel like I'm always fighting for you? Why does it feel like I'm always one step away from losing you?"

The tension between us snapped, and I grabbed her wrist, pulling her to me so fast she gasped "You're not losing me" I rasped, my voice rough with frustration "You have me, you've always had me"

Her body trembled against mine, but her eyes stayed locked on me, blazing with the same fire I felt burning through my veins "Then why do I feel like I'm always falling short? Why do I feel like I'm never enough?"

I clenched my jaw, my pulse racing as I gripped her wrist tighter, my anger and need mixing into something hot and wild "You're more than enough," I snarled again "You think I'd be here if you weren't?"

Her breath caught, and I could see the flicker of doubt, of vulnerability, in her eyes, but she didn't pull away, she leaned in, her breath hot against my skin, her voice trembling "You're falling for me"

It wasn't a question, it was a statement, a trut, one I couldn't deny.

"Yeah," I admitted, my voice thick with emotion, the rawness of it making my chest tighten "I am"

She stared at me, her breath coming in short, ragged bursts "I think I'm falling for you too" she whispered, her voice breaking, the words raw and real.

We didn't need to say I love you, words were too big, too dangerous, too... final, but we were falling, hard, fast, and there was no stopping it, no matter how toxic, no matter how deep the fire burned, I wasn't letting go.

I crashed my lips against hers, hard, pulling her so close I could feel her heart pounding against mine. She kissed me back, just as fierce, her hands gripping my shoulders like she was holding on for dear life, there was nothing soft about the way we moved, it was desperate, hungry, like we were trying to consume each other whole.

My hands slid down her back, gripping her hips, pulling her against me until there was no space left between us, the heat of her body, the taste of her lips, it was too much and not enough all at once, we stumbled back toward the bed, our mouths still locked together, our bodies crashing against each other with a force that made my head spin.

The fire between us wasn't going out, it was burning hotter than ever, consuming everything in its path, but that was the thing about us, we didn't want to control it, we wanted to be consumed by it, by each other, even if it burned us alive in the end.

Because this, we, we're fire and I'd rather burn with her than live without the heat.