Page 57 of Intense (Beneath The Blaze #3)

STEPHANIE

Song- Euthanasia, NXW TIME

I wake to find Finn staring at me.

A faint smile curves his mouth as I blink against the light. He looks like he’s been awake for hours.

“Good morning, love,” he whispers.

“Morning,” I croak, my voice still heavy with sleep.

Sliding my hands up his chest, I feel him flinch. His fingers curl around my wrist, not rough, but firm. The smile doesn’t fade.

Weird.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He nods. “Would you like to play a game with me, Stephanie?”

I blink, trying to read him. “What kind of game?”

“I like to call it more of a trial. A way to unlock our truths. Find our kinks. See what we’re really made of.” His voice is steady, almost too calm. “It will reveal a lot about us. Are you in?”

I swallow. It’s too early for this. “Uh… yeah. Sure. When?”

“Now. I’ll need to blindfold you for the drive. I’d like to keep everything a surprise for my wife.”

“Okay… Can I have breakfast first?”

He rolls on top of me, and I instinctively hook my legs around him. His eyes dart between my lips and my gaze, something shadowed moving behind the grey.

I can’t name it.

“You pack a bag, I’ll make some pancakes.”

His finger runs up my snake tattoo, sending shivers down me.

“This is beautiful,” he whispers.

“Thank you,” I smile, leaning up to kiss him, but it lands flat. No hunger. No spark. Just a press of lips.

Then he’s off me, already pulling on his clothes. A switch flipped, and I don’t know why.

Was it last night? Did we push too far, too soon?

His footsteps fade down the stairs, and that familiar wound opens in my chest—that jagged thought that there’s something wrong with me. That maybe he doesn’t want to keep me.

And it hurts.

I drag myself out of bed and pull on my favorite black lingerie set, the one with silver skulls, then hide it beneath a loose black dress. A little winged eyeliner, a comb through my hair. I’m ready.

The smell of pancakes pulls me downstairs. My stomach growls as I toss a few clothes in a bag and hurry into the kitchen.

“Finn?” My voice is cautious.

“Yes, love?” He doesn’t turn, focused on flipping the pancake.

I perch on a stool, watching him. “Are you mad at me? Was last night too much?”

He takes a breath, slides the pancake onto a plate, then turns with a smile that loosens my chest. “Last night was perfect.”

He sets the plate in front of me, passing the syrup.

“Are you not having any?”

“No, I’m not hungry.”

Something is gnawing at him.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m always fine, love. Don’t worry about me.” He turns his back to wash the pan.

I take my first bite, and a soft moan slips out without thinking. His head whips around, eyes locked on me, burning.

I grin; I’m pushing and tempting him, hoping he’ll break and come over here and wrap his hand around my throat.

Nothing.

I finish in silence. He grabs my duffle bag.

“You ready to go, love?”

“Yeah. So… What’s the game?”

He taps the side of his nose. “Where we’re going is going to either make us or break us, temptress.”

A shiver slides down my spine. Break us?

“I—I don’t like the sound of that.” I stop walking.

“If something crumbles so easily, it was never meant to be. This is about revealing our true selves. It’s important to me.”

His face softens. I step forward, palm brushing his cheek. “I don’t want to hide from you.”

But the truth is coiled deep inside me. And I know exactly who I am.

A murderer.

A victim.

A woman who let men take from her to pay for medical school.

I’m not even sure I like myself.

“Secrets only kill you in the end, Stephanie. Remember that.”

He kisses my temple, then guides me out to his Mercedes.

As soon as I settle in the passenger seat, he secures his tie around my eyes, blocking my vision.

“All good?” he asks.

“Yes.”

Maybe the truth will set me free.

Or it’ll burn me alive.