"I said let me go," I snarled, twisting my wrist against his hold, my other hand shoving at his shoulder.
His jaw tightened, a muscle feathering sharp at the hinge, and for the first time his voice frayed at the edges.
"Stop."
Low. Rough. Not as steady as before.
The air between us pulled tight, thick as smoke in my throat, suffocating in a way that had nothing to do with weight or wounds. I could feel his pulse through the skin of his palm. My own heart pounding back against it like a drum calling for war. His eyes locked onto mine, and the air between us tightened, thick enough to drown in.
I could feel his pulse in his grip. My own heart pounding back at it.
"I don't answer to you," I spat, twisting under him, ignoring the sting in my wrist, the burn in my lungs. "I don't belong to you."
His eyes flicked over my face, trying to understand something. Searching.
"Can't you untangle yourself from me?" he asked, voice quieter now. Almost… confused.
"What?"
