Chapter 5 The Forbidden Cousin - Chapter 5

She carried the plates to the sink and turned on the faucet, the hot water gushing out and fogging the windowpane. He came to stand beside her, taking a plate to rinse. Their bodies were dangerously close again. His arm brushed against hers. His thigh pressed against hers. Kethlen closed her eyes, on the verge of a sensory overload.

That's when she felt it. A light, firm touch at the base of her spine. His hand. Resting there, on her hip bone, his thumb making a slow, hypnotic, circular motion over the thin fabric of her shorts.

She froze. All the blood in her body seemed to rush to that point of contact, and then flow downward, in a torrent, to the molten core of her desire. The breath caught in her throat came out as a shaky, broken sigh.

"Gael..." she whispered, a weak protest, a plea.

"Shhh..." he whispered back, his warm breath in her ear. His hand slid from her waist, down, and gave a soft, almost possessive pat on her backside before he moved away to grab a towel. "Just getting the towel. You were in the way."

She opened her eyes, panting, her entire body vibrating. He had touched her. Finally. And the touch, even through the clothing, had been an explicit promise, a preview of what was to come. The kitchen, once cozy, now felt like an arena. And she, Kethlen, knew the night was far from over. The line separating cousins from lovers had not just been crossed, but set ablaze. And the fire had barely begun to burn.

The bed was a sea of torment. Kethlen tossed and turned between the cotton sheets, her body in a state of unbearable agitation. Every nerve felt exposed, every inch of her skin whispering his name. The phantom touch of his hand on her waist, the heat of his body enveloping her in the kitchen, the gaze that promised things she barely dared to imagine—it all swirled in her mind, a whirlwind of desire and guilt. The wetness between her legs was a constant, shameful reality, a damp, insistent throbbing that kept her awake in a state of feverish excitement.

She tried to focus on the rough texture of the sheet, the sound of the wind whispering in the leaves of the mango tree in the yard, on anything but him. But it was useless. The entire house seemed saturated with Gael's presence. The silence was heavy, laden with the sound of his breathing she imagined from the other side of the hallway, strong and regular, blowing over the bare skin of his chest.

Thirst, suddenly, became an urgent need, an excuse to escape the room that had become a prison for her own forbidden desires. Perhaps the cold water would calm the fire consuming her insides. She slid out of bed, her bare feet meeting the cold wooden floor. She didn't bother with a robe. The short t-shirt and silk panties were her only armor. She opened the bedroom door carefully, trying not to make a sound.

The hallway was a tunnel of deep darkness, only faintly lit by the pale moonlight from the window at the end. The air was colder there, and she crossed her arms over her breasts, her nipples hardening instantly against the thin fabric. She took two steps towards the stairs when a solid form moved in the shadows, closer than she expected.

She jumped, a small, stifled gasp catching in her throat.

"Just me," Gael's voice emerged from the darkness, low and husky, as if he, too, had been awake for hours.

Kethlen pressed herself against the wall, her hand on her chest, feeling her racing heart.

"Gael, God, you scared me," she panted.

He stepped out of the shadows. He was wearing only cotton sleep shorts, low on his hips, which revealed the defined V of his abdomen and the trail of hair that disappeared beneath the waistband. His torso, bare, was a pale sculpture in the gloom, the defined muscles creating enticing shadows. He seemed larger, more imposing, in the dark.

"Couldn't sleep," he said, and it was a confession that echoed her own.

"Me neither. I came to get water."

They stood still, motionless, staring at each other across the darkness. The tension from the kitchen, far from dissipating, had condensed in that silent hallway, becoming a living, palpable entity. Kethlen could hear her own breathing, ragged and quick. She could see the slow rise and fall of his chest.

He took a step forward. Then another. Until he was inches from her. The heat from his body was an invitation, a magnet. She couldn't move, paralyzed not by fear, but by agonizing anticipation.

"Keth," he whispered, and her name, in that shortened form, sounded like the most intimate thing she had ever heard.

He didn't touch her. Not immediately. First, his hand rose and rested on the wall beside her head, caging her in. His gaze was a black fire that burned her.

"I can't pretend anymore that it's not you I want, Keth. Since forever."

The declaration, so direct, so raw, hit her like a punch to the gut. All her defenses, all her rationalizations, crumbled. She opened her mouth to speak, to protest, but the words that came out were a weak whisper of reality.

"We're cousins, Gael. It's... wrong."

A slow, dangerously seductive smile curved his lips. He tilted his head, and his breath, warm with a faint trace of wine, caressed her face.

"What's more wrong?" he whispered, his voice a deep growl that vibrated in her bones. "This, or spending my whole life wondering what your mouth tastes like?"

It was the final question. The one with no rational answer. The one that could only be answered with the body, with the soul, with total surrender.

He didn't wait for an answer. His free hand came down and found the curve of her waist, firm, possessive. His palm, rough and hot, burned through the thin fabric of her t-shirt. His fingers tightened against her flesh, pulling her slightly towards him. Kethlen let out a low moan, a sound of pure need, and her eyes fluttered shut.

It was the invitation he was waiting for.

He closed the final distance.

The first kiss wasn't an assault; it was a conquest. His lips found hers with excruciating slowness, a meticulous exploration. They were softer than she had imagined, but the pressure behind them was undeniable, demanding. He knew how to kiss. God, did he know. His mouth moved against hers, a hypnotic ebb and flow that made her knees go weak. She sank against the wall, her body molding to his in an act of instinctive surrender.