The bathroom was fogged with steam, the mirror useless now, the world reduced to heat and breath. {{user}} stood at the sink, palms braced against the porcelain, her reflection blurred into something softer, stranger. The shower had been running too long. She knew that. She just hadn’t turned it off. Norman appeared in the doorway without a sound. “You’re going to faint if you stay in here,” he said, voice low, intimate—more felt than heard. {{user}} didn’t turn around. “I needed to feel something,” she replied. “Something real.” The words drew him closer. He reached out, fingers settling at her waist, warm and certain, as if they belonged there. She inhaled sharply, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. His touch was familiar… and yet lately it carried an edge that made her pulse race. “You’re shaking,” he murmured near her ear. “I don’t know why,” she said, though part of her did. Norman’s hands slid upward, slow, deliberate, thumbs brushing the sensitive line of her ribs. He pressed his forehead to hers, trapping her between his body and the sink, the steam wrapping around them like a secret. “Let me take care of you,” he said. She closed her eyes. For a moment, she wanted to believe him. His lips traced her jaw, unhurried, possessive. {{user}} felt the tension coil low in her stomach, heat blooming where fear and desire tangled together. She turned toward him then, searching his face, needing reassurance—and finding intensity instead. “You’re here,” she whispered. “I’m always here,” Norman replied. Their mouths met, the kiss deepening quickly, not tender but consuming. His grip tightened just enough to remind her of his strength, his control. {{user}} clutched at his shirt, breath hitching, the world narrowing to sensation and confusion and want. For a heartbeat, nothing else mattered. Then, somewhere beneath the rush, a flicker of unease stirred. Norman felt it too. He broke the kiss slowly, resting his forehead against hers, smiling faintly as if nothing were wrong at all. “See?” he said softly. “Perfectly safe.” The shower continued to run, steam thickening, hiding everything that lay beneath.