John (POV)
March 18th, 20xx — 3:23 PM
Zone 3A-Δ – Tenth Floor — Jiang Roulan's Apartment
———
Her top slipped over her head.
She stood bare above the waist — pale, scarred, flawless in the way only women who fight to live are. Her chest rose with each breath, nipples already firm from the cold and the adrenaline, her skin flushed along the collarbone.
I looked down at her, realising just how much smaller she was.
Then I stepped forward.
She barely had time to react before I wrapped my hands around her hips and gently turned her.
Her back met the edge of the soft chair behind her — the one I'd dropped into earlier. It wasn't much, but it supported her well enough.
"Sit back. Relax."
Then I knelt in front of her.
She looked at me with wide eyes, her pupils dilating and her mouth half open, breathing growing unsteady.
"Don't move."
I pushed her thighs open, slowly but firm, so she didn't press back.
