My Skin Needs Touch, Their Stomachs Turn novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The black market only carried unranked stock – bottom of the barrel. When I found Silas Thorne, I never

expected him to satisfy me.

Arthur and Felix were top-tier S-class, and even they couldn’t always keep up. A scrawny little snow leopard

from the underground? Not a chance.

I was wrong.

Silas’s hands were clumsy at first – tentative, unsure. But once he found his rhythm, something shifted. He

took over completely.

I went from coaxing him to hurry up to begging him to slow down.

“S-Silas

ear.

–

maybe we should get to know each other a little more “A quiet laugh brushed the shell of my

“Aren’t we doing that right now?”

By the end, I wasn’t just sated. I was wrecked.

I lay boneless on the mattress, too spent to lift a finger. Silas, somehow, looked completely refreshed.

He ran a bath, carried me in, and washed me head to toe. By the time he brought me back, the sheets were

already changed.

Then he made chicken noodle soup – sat on the edge of the bed, patiently spoon-feeding me until the bowl

was empty.

“Satisfied, Hazel?” He crouched beside the bed, chin propped on the mattress, watching me with those steady, gentle eyes. His tail had appeared at some point — a massive puff of silver fur swaying lazily behind

him.

The question made my face burn. I reached out and pushed his face away.

corners.

just turned his head and nuzzled into my palm, smiling until his eyes crinkled at the

Arthur and Felix had never once been like this. Every time they touched me, it felt like they were clocking

into a shift.

Afterward, I was the one drawing baths and cooking late-night meals. Sometimes they’d hold me while they slept. Most of the time they didn’t.

There was one night – a bad one. My fever spiked to 104, and the chills were so violent my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.

I crawled to Felix’s side of the bed and pulled at his sleeve. He rolled over, back to me. “There’s a drill at 0600. Don’t start.”

Chapter 5

I dragged myself to Arthur’s room. He woke up, stared at me for a long moment, then pulled the blanket off his own bed and wrapped it around my shoulders.

Then he got up and went to sleep in the next room.

The next morning, they saw my fever-flushed face. “Why didn’t you say something?” from Felix. “Tell us next time,” from Arthur.

I actually believed they cared.

The comments sliced through my memories.

[ICONIC SCENE – the male leads got hurt saving Chloe!!!]

[Oh my god, Arthur took a killing blow meant for Chloe, and Felix carried her on his back for twenty miles through the mountains. I’m literally sobbing.]

[Chloe was on Felix’s back and tried to lick his wounds for him – he dodged, but he was SO obviously

flustered. HELP.]

Something sour and sharp rose in my chest, and I couldn’t tell if it was grief or just the old ache of never

being enough.

Five years. I changed their bandages, cooked their meals, bathed them when they couldn’t stand. Worked myself to the bone until I had nothing left to give.

And none of it mattered as much as one girl reaching for their wounds on instinct.

Silas leaned in and brushed his tail across my cheek, catching the tear at the corner of my eye. “Hazel. The

soup’s getting cold.”

I ducked my head, swallowed the tears, and opened my mouth for the spoon. It was sweet.

I didn’t know whether I’d gone too long without contact or my condition had gotten that bad, but even after everything Silas gave me during the day, the discomfort crept back at night.

I called his name. Before I could even explain, he understood. He pulled me close and held on.

We spent the next four days in a warm, hazy blur.

The comments flickered in and out, keeping me updated on the three of them. According to the

play-by-play, Arthur and Felix had fallen for Chloe hard and fast – at this rate, they’d make it official the

moment they got back.

After that, the script was predictable. I’d notice the shift between them, spiral, and lash out in worse and worse ways. The twins would lose patience with me piece by piece, until even glancing in Chloe’s direction

was enough for them to accuse me of plotting against her.

I knew how that story ended. I’d already read the comments.

So I decided to move out. The twins had said I could keep the house, but I valued my life more than square

Chapter 5

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footage.

I started looking for a smaller place – nothing fancy, just enough room for Silas and me. Before I began searching, I asked him if he’d mind downsizing to a smaller apartment.

Silas wound his tail around my arm and nodded like his life depended on it. “I’ll go wherever you go, Hazel. You gave me my life back. You’re my only family.”

He’d figured out early that hearing my name did something to me – my ribs – and ever since, he never called me anything else.

made something warm bloom behind

The word family made me curious, though. Fresh out of the bath, Silas looked pale and clean, and he carried

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