| MANDY’S POV |

The guard’s voice came again, no longer a question but a sharp, suspicious demand that echoed off the tile and metal lockers. “Who’s there?”

I froze, every muscle stiffening like stone, my back pressed against the cold wall.

Chris’s hand remained clamped over my mouth, rough and unrelenting, his body pressing me into the wall so tightly I could barely breathe.

His heat pressed against mine, heavy and suffocating, while his lips brushed my ear, breath hot and ...