Elena's chest rose and fell as she tried to steady her breath, but the room itself seemed to pulse with Adrian's presence. Even when he wasn't touching her, she could feel him—an energy wrapping around her like chains made of silk.
The storm outside beat against the glass, a relentless rhythm that matched her heartbeat. She had told herself a hundred times to keep her distance, to resist the pull of him, but standing here in his penthouse, with his shadow falling over her, every ounce of willpower trembled.
Adrian leaned closer, one hand braced against the wall beside her head. His gaze was dangerous—dark but not cruel. There was always that paradox about him: he looked as though he could burn the whole world down, yet the moment his eyes lingered on her, Elena felt as though she was the only thing he wanted to protect.
"You're trembling again," he murmured, his voice low enough to vibrate against her skin. "Is it because of me… or because of him?"
She swallowed hard, knowing exactly who he meant. Damian. Her old senior. The man who had reappeared like a memory that refused to fade.
Elena looked away, but Adrian's fingers caught her chin gently, guiding her eyes back to his. "Don't lie to me, Elena. Not about this."
The intensity of his stare stripped her bare. "I don't know what I feel," she whispered. "Damian… he reminds me of a time before all of this. When life was simple. When I wasn't—"
"Possessed?" Adrian finished, a sharp edge in his tone.
Her lips parted, but no denial came. Because maybe he was right. Maybe she was possessed—by him, by the way his presence consumed her thoughts, by the way his touch branded her skin.
Adrian smiled faintly, though it wasn't a smile of joy. It was victory edged with pain. "Then stop pretending you want to run from it."
He moved closer, the heat of him searing through the thin fabric of her dress. Elena's back pressed into the wall as his breath grazed her ear. "I could let him have you," Adrian whispered. "I could let you live in his little fairytale of sunlight. But you'd come back to me. You always do."
Her heart stumbled at the dangerous certainty in his voice.
"You sound so sure," she managed, her voice shaking.
Adrian's lips brushed the corner of her jaw, featherlight but enough to make her shiver. "Because I know you," he said. "I know what you crave even if you're too afraid to admit it."
Her knees weakened, but before she could collapse, his arm slipped around her waist, anchoring her to him. His strength, his scent, the warmth radiating from his body—it was overwhelming. The wildness he carried should have frightened her, but instead it felt like home.
"Elena!" a voice suddenly echoed from the other side of the penthouse door. Familiar. Steady. Damian.
She froze, her breath catching.
Adrian chuckled darkly against her skin. "Perfect timing," he muttered. "The knight in shining armor arrives."
The knock came sharper. "Elena, are you in there?"
Adrian didn't move away. Instead, he tilted her chin up and pressed his forehead to hers. "Answer him if you want," he whispered. "But remember whose arms you're in right now."
Elena's pulse raced. She wanted to push him away, to create space, but her body betrayed her—leaning closer, clinging to the dangerous comfort he offered.
The door creaked, and Damian's voice carried in again. "I know you're with him. Elena, you don't have to stay."
The words pierced her, but before she could respond, Adrian caught her lips in a kiss—fierce, claiming, unyielding. Her gasp melted into him as his mouth moved against hers with the kind of hunger that set her entire world ablaze.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't innocent. It was the kiss of someone who would burn the world before letting her go. And shamefully, terrifyingly, her body responded. Her hands found his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt as if she needed him to breathe.
The knock grew louder. "Elena!"
But Adrian deepened the kiss, pulling her flush against him, his hand sliding to the small of her back. The world beyond the two of them blurred. There was only the storm outside, the fire inside, and the unshakable truth—she belonged to him in this moment, no matter who waited beyond the door.
When he finally pulled back, Elena's lips were swollen, her chest heaving. Adrian's eyes gleamed, victory and desire mingled in the storm of his gaze. "Go to him, if you think you can," he murmured. "But you'll carry me with you. You always will."
Her fingers trembled against his shirt, torn between pushing him away and clinging tighter.
"Elena," Damian called again, softer now. Almost pleading.
Adrian's thumb brushed her lower lip, a smirk tugging at his mouth. "He'll never touch you the way I do. He can't."
The weight of his words sank into her chest. She hated that he was right. She hated that her body, her heart, her soul betrayed her every time he looked at her like that.
"Elena," Adrian whispered, his voice softer, almost vulnerable now. "Stay."
Her knees weakened again, and she let herself lean against him, just for a breath, just for one stolen second.
And outside the door, Damian waited.