[CHAPTER 37]

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───

TITLE  : SET ABLAZE

THE SLYTHERIN COMMON ROOM  was empty.

The fire in the hearth crackled softly, casting flickering golden light across the room, but there was no one else there—just Ellie and Mattheo, sitting together on the couch, legs tangled, hands lazily interlocked. It was late, long past curfew, but neither of them cared.

Ellie wasn't even sure how they had ended up like this, their conversation fading into a comfortable silence, bodies unconsciously drifting closer until she was practically half on top of him, her fingers playing absentmindedly with the hem of his sweater.

Mattheo exhaled slowly, his other hand resting lightly on her waist, his thumb tracing slow, teasing circles through the fabric of her shirt.

The tension between them was thick, electric.

She wasn't sure who moved first, but one moment, they were simply existing in the quiet warmth of the fire, and the next—

His lips brushed against hers.

A featherlight touch. A question.

Ellie barely had a moment to react before she instinctively closed the space between them, kissing him with more urgency, more need.

Mattheo groaned softly, his grip on her waist tightening as he pulled her closer, his fingers pressing into her skin, feeling, memorizing. Ellie gasped slightly at the sensation, at the way his body felt against hers, solid and warm and utterly intoxicating.

Her hands slid up, threading into his hair, tugging lightly—and that was all it took.

Mattheo's restraint snapped.

He deepened the kiss, tilting his head, his hands roaming, exploring, sliding under the hem of her sweater to rest against her bare skin.

She shivered at the contact, her breath hitching as his fingers traced slow, deliberate patterns against her lower back.

"Mattheo," she murmured against his lips, voice breathless, needy.

Something about the way she said his name sent a jolt through him, and suddenly, he was shifting, guiding her onto her back against the couch, his body hovering over hers.

His lips left a trail down her jaw, along the curve of her neck, lingering there, pressing slow, open-mouthed kisses that made her pulse race.

Ellie's fingers dug into his shoulders, her head tipping back slightly, eyes fluttering shut as a soft sigh escaped her lips.

Mattheo smirked against her skin.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, voice husky.

Ellie's heart clenched at the rawness in his tone, at the way his eyes darkened as he looked at her, like she was the only thing that existed in that moment.

He kissed her again, slower this time, savoring, as if he wanted to commit every second of this to memory. Ellie melted into it, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, deeper.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that—lost in each other, in the heat, the feeling, the want.

But eventually, Mattheo pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers, his breath heavy, his hands still cradling her like she was something fragile.

"I could do this forever," he whispered.

Ellie swallowed hard, her fingers brushing along his jaw, memorizing the shape of him in the dim firelight.

"Then don't stop," she murmured.

Mattheo's breath hitched. Then, with a slow, wicked grin, he kissed her again.

───🦋･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.🦋───