The next two weeks blurred together in a surreal dance of two worlds.
By day, Nina attended classes, took notes, served coffee at the campus café during her shift. She was still herself exhausted student, dutiful daughter, girl who counted pennies.
By night, she transformed into someone else entirely. Someone who wore designer dresses and sat at Adrian's side while dangerous men discussed territory and profit. Someone who'd learned to smile blandly when conversations veered toward topics that made her stomach churn. Someone who was getting far too comfortable with the weight of Adrian's hand on her back, his dark gaze following her across crowded rooms.
The money appeared in her account like clockwork. Two thousand every month, exactly as promised. She sent half to her mother immediately, tucked the rest away for emergencies.
But the real payment came in smaller, more insidious forms.
The way Adrian's fingers would linger when he fastened a necklace around her throat. The brush of his lips against her temple when he whispered translations of Italian conversations she wasn't supposed to understand. The heat in his eyes when she laughed at something one of his associates said, jealousy flashing across his features so quickly she almost missed it.
"You're playing with fire," Keisha warned one afternoon, watching Nina get ready for yet another event. "I haven't seen you study in days. And you're…" She gestured vaguely. "Different."
"I'm fine."
"You're falling for him."
"I'm not" But the protest died on Nina's lips because it felt like a lie.
She didn't know what she felt for Adrian. Fear, yes. Attraction, undeniably. But also something more complicated a pull she couldn't name, like gravity slowly dragging her into orbit around him.
That night's event was different from the others. Instead of a restaurant or gallery, Adrian's driver took them to a nightclub in the warehouse district all pounding music and strobing lights and bodies pressed close in the darkness.
"What is this?" Nina asked as Adrian led her past the line, past security, into a VIP section overlooking the dance floor.
"One of my establishments." He guided her to a booth where several of his men already sat, drinks in hand, women draped across laps. "Consider it a more… relaxed evening."
But there was nothing relaxed about the way his hand settled possessively on her thigh as she sat beside him, or the way his men watched her with varying degrees of interest and warning.
Marco the scarred man who seemed to be Adrian's second-in-command leaned forward. "Boss, we should talk about the Russo situation."
"Later." Adrian's voice held dismissal.
"It can't wait. They're pushing into the South Side"
"I said later." The temperature in Adrian's tone dropped twenty degrees. His fingers tightened on Nina's leg. "Tonight isn't about business."
Marco's jaw clenched, but he nodded and sat back.
The night devolved into excess bottle service that probably cost thousands, music so loud Nina felt it in her bones, the constant press of bodies and heat and too much sensation.
Adrian remained close, his attention split between his men's whispered updates and Nina's presence beside him. She could feel his restraint fraying with each drink, each hour, each time another man's gaze lingered too long on her dress.
Around midnight, Nina excused herself to the bathroom, needing air and space and a moment to think clearly.
The hallway was blessedly quieter. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes, trying to center herself.
"You're the new one."
Nina's eyes snapped open. A woman stood a few feet away beautiful in a hard, calculated way, with platinum hair and a dress that left little to imagination.
"Excuse me?"
"Adrian's new pet." The woman's smile was sharp. "I'm Sophia. I used to sit where you're sitting. Before he got bored."
Nina's stomach dropped. "I don't know what you"
"Save it." Sophia moved closer, and Nina could smell expensive perfume mixed with alcohol. "Let me give you some advice, sweetheart. He'll make you feel special. Important. Like you're different from all the others. But you're not. None of us are."
"We're not it's not like that"
"Isn't it?" Sophia's eyes glittered with something between pity and malice. "He bought you pretty things. Pays your bills. Keeps you close. And you tell yourself it's just business, just temporary, just until you get what you need. But then one day you realize you can't remember who you were before him. And by then, it's too late."
"That won't happen to me."
"That's what I said." Sophia turned to leave, then paused. "One more thing. The men he does business with? They're not just criminals. They're monsters. And Adrian is the biggest monster of all. The only difference is he's better at pretending to be human."
She disappeared into the crowd, leaving Nina shaking against the wall.
When Nina returned to the booth, Adrian took one look at her face and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just I need some air."
"Then we'll leave." He stood immediately, not asking, not arguing. His hand found the small of her back. "Marco, handle things here."
The drive back was silent. Adrian kept glancing at her, tension radiating from him, but he didn't push.
When they pulled up to her dorm, he caught her wrist before she could exit. "Tell me what happened."
"I met someone you used to… someone named Sophia."
Understanding flickered across his features, followed by something darker. "What did she say to you?"
"That you'll get bored. That I'm just another girl in a long line of them." Nina forced herself to meet his eyes. "Is that true?"
Adrian's jaw tightened. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then: "Sophia was a business arrangement that ended when she tried to sell information to my competitors. What I had with her was nothing like what I have with you."
"And what do you have with me?"
"I don't know yet." The honesty in his voice surprised her. "But it's not boredom I'm feeling."
He leaned closer, close enough that she could feel his breath on her lips, see the war happening behind his eyes want versus control, hunger versus restraint.
"I should go," Nina whispered.
"You should." But his hand came up to cup her jaw, thumb brushing across her cheekbone. "Nina…"
The way he said her name rough, almost reverent made something crack open inside her chest.
She closed the distance between them.
The kiss was electric. Desperate. His hand tangled in her hair while hers clutched his shirt, pulling him closer. He tasted like whiskey and danger and something addictive she couldn't name.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Adrian pressed his forehead to hers.
"This is a mistake," he said roughly.
"I know."
"You should stay away from me."
"I know."
"But you won't."
"No." Nina opened her eyes, finding his dark gaze inches away. "I won't."
Adrian's smile was equal parts triumph and resignation. "Tomorrow night. My place. Just us."
It wasn't a question.
Nina nodded, knowing she was crossing a line she could never uncross.
As she walked into her dorm, the bracelet heavy on her wrist and his taste still on her lips, Sophia's warning echoed in her mind: By then, it's too late.
Maybe it already was.