**Megan’s POV**

I didn’t know how long I stood there, hidden in the alcove like some shattered thing. My chest heaved with uneven breaths, my throat raw from holding in sobs that begged to be let out.

The heat from his touch still lingered between my thighs, a cruel reminder of the war I was losing against myself.

You’re nothing but a contract, baby.

His words echoed louder than my heartbeat. Louder than the moans I’d let slip from my lips minutes earlier.

Louder than the ...