CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 142: EXPOSED BEFORE HIM

When Dorian finally pulled back, Cassian’s lips were swollen, his eyes glassy.

His heart thundered in his chest, but it wasn’t just from the kiss—it was from the recognition, the clarity that shattered every doubt.

It was him.

It really was him.

"Dorian..." Cassian breathed, barely able to speak. "How are you here? I thought—you...you—"

But Dorian silenced him with another kiss, fiercer this time, filled with possession and heat. His hand cupped the back of Cassian’s neck, anchoring him in place, refusing to let him escape—not that Cassian tried. He melted into the touch like he’d been waiting for it all his life, reasoning crumbling under the weight of sensation.

He knew he should demand answers. He knew he should pull away.

But he didn’t.

He couldn’t.

Dorian’s lips left his once more, but only to trail lower—kissing along his jaw, then down his throat, each brush of his mouth sending sparks down Cassian’s spine. He gasped softly, fingers digging into Dorian’s shoulders.

"Still so sensitive," Dorian murmured against his skin. "Some things don’t change."

Cassian shivered.

The demon’s kisses trailed lower still—soft brushes against his collarbone, then the firm curve of his chest. When Dorian’s lips closed around a point just above his heart, Cassian jolted, letting out a helpless sound that echoed in the chamber.

"Dorian—ah—"

A clink echoed through the water as the gold clasp of his robe slipped free. The soaked fabric, already barely clinging to his body, floated away like a whisper, baring him completely to the air... and to Dorian’s gaze.

Cassian froze, breath catching as he became suddenly, painfully aware of how exposed he was. His cheeks flushed, his hands twitching as if to cover himself—but he didn’t move.

Dorian’s eyes darkened as they roamed over him with hungry gaze, glowing faintly under the firefly light.

"You always did look beautiful like this," he said softly, reverently.

Then, with no warning, he hoisted Cassian up with ease.

Cassian gasped, his arms looping instinctively around Dorian’s neck, his legs wrapping around the demon’s waist. Despite Cassian’s solid frame, he felt small in Dorian’s arms. The difference in their builds was stark—demon strength radiated from Dorian’s body, muscle and magic coiled beneath his skin.

Cassian’s back arched slightly when Dorian pressed their bodies together again—slow, deliberate. The contact made him moan, his head falling back as pleasure sang through his nerves.

"D-Dorian... wait—"

But Dorian didn’t wait.

He shifted, laying Cassian carefully against the smooth stone ledge behind them, half-submerged, his bare skin kissed by both air and water. Cassian’s breath hitched as Dorian loomed above him, red eyes devouring every inch of him.

Dorian’s lips resumed their trail—down his chest, to his stomach, pressing kisses that felt like fire on wet skin. Cassian squirmed under the attention, his breath coming in short, shaky bursts.

And then Dorian reached the edge of where damp fabric still clung to him.

Cassian tensed.

The pants were soaked and clung to him in ways that left very little to the imagination. Dorian didn’t remove them—not yet—but his lips pressed softly over the outline beneath, just once.

Cassian cried out—a broken, breathless sound that echoed like a secret ripped from his chest.

His entire body arched instinctively. He couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Every nerve was on fire.

But just as Dorian’s hand ghosted over him again—

Cassian’s eyes flew open.

Something in him snapped back to awareness.

"Stop," he gasped.

Dorian paused.

Cassian’s chest rose and fell rapidly, his hand pressing to Dorian’s shoulder. "I—I can’t. Not like this. I don’t even know what’s happening to me—I need to think."

For a heartbeat, Dorian said nothing.

Cassian quickly slipped away, chest heaving as he scrambled to the ledge. His hands fumbled until they found the towel he’d spotted earlier, hastily dragging it over his body. The fabric stuck to his wet skin, clumsy and barely sufficient, but he didn’t care.

He had to get away.

The chamber spun around him as he stood on shaky legs, the water dripping off his body leaving a trail behind him. He didn’t dare look back—not at Dorian’s expression, not at those burning crimson eyes that had seen too much. That had felt too much.

Like a frightened rabbit, he ran.

Down the quiet corridors, past the glowing orbs that floated along the ceiling. His footsteps were loud on the polished stone, but there was no one to stop him. No servants, no guards. Just the suffocating silence of the palace pressing in on him as his heart pounded like thunder in his chest.

Finally, He was grateful for the emptiness.

Grateful no one saw the flushed cheeks, the dazed, trembling limbs, the barely-clutched towel. Grateful that no one witnessed the way he bolted through the corridor like something had set fire to his soul.

He reached the door to his room and slammed it shut behind him.

The sound echoed like a final exhale, cutting through the stillness.

Then he sank.

The towel fell slightly loose as he slid down the door, crumpling to the floor like a discarded thought. His knees curled up, his hands gripped his hair, and he buried his face between them. His breathing was wild, erratic, like he’d run miles—but it wasn’t his body that was exhausted.

It was his mind.

His heart.

His everything.

The remnants of Dorian’s touch still clung to his skin—his lips, his chest, even the places he hadn’t touched fully yet. Cassian could feel it all, like ghostly fire racing along his nerves. He could still taste the kiss, still hear Dorian’s voice, feel the possessive strength in those arms.

And yet—

He didn’t know what any of it meant.

Who was Dorian now? The prince he once adored? A demon lord cloaked in mystery and power? A stranger wearing a familiar face?

Cassian trembled, forcing himself to take in deep breaths.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

He wrapped his arms tighter around himself as if trying to hold all the pieces in place before they scattered again. His skin still felt too warm, like it remembered everything he was trying so hard to forget.

He stayed there for a long time.

Until his breath steadied.

Until the tears that had threatened didn’t fall.

Until the pounding in his chest dulled to a quiet ache.