I didn't see him for three days.
Which was strange because after the way Dominic Blackwood looked at me, I had expected him to appear everywhere.
In my thoughts.
In my nightmares.
In the quiet moments when my heart beat a little too loudly.
Yet campus returned to normal. Lectures. Deadlines. Ethan walking me to class like he always did, his presence familiar and safe.
Too safe.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked as we crossed the courtyard. "You've been distant."
"I'm fine," I said softly, adjusting my bag strap. "Just tired."
It wasn't a lie.
But it wasn't the truth either.
The truth was that I couldn't forget the way Dominic's eyes had stripped me bare without ever touching me. Like he had already memorized me claimed something I hadn't offered.
I told myself men like him didn't linger.
They took what they wanted and moved on.
I was wrong.
That evening, as I left the library alone, my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
Unknown: Get into the black car behind you.
My breath caught.
I stopped walking.
Behind me, parked too neatly for a student vehicle, was a sleek black sedan with tinted windows. The engine purred quietly, waiting.
My fingers trembled around my phone.
Me: Who is this?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Unknown: You already know.
My pulse thundered in my ears.
I should have said no.
I should have walked away.
I should have called Ethan.
Instead, my feet betrayed me.
The door opened before I touched it. Warm leather. Clean masculine scent. Power wrapped in silence.
Dominic sat inside, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, watch glinting under the dim light. He didn't smile when he saw me he never did.
"Sit," he said calmly.
It wasn't a request.
I closed the door.
The car moved immediately.
"Where are we going?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
"Somewhere quiet."
"That's not an answer."
His lips curved faintly. "I don't explain myself often."
I lifted my chin. "Then maybe you shouldn't have asked me to get in your car."
Now he turned fully toward me.
God.
Up close, he was devastating. Sharp cheekbones. Dark lashes casting shadows over eyes that missed nothing. A man built to dominate yet his voice dropped when he spoke again.
"You're not afraid of me."
It wasn't a question.
"I'm cautious," I said. "There's a difference."
He studied me like a puzzle he enjoyed solving.
"I like that you don't soften yourself to please me," he murmured. "Most women do."
"I'm not most women."
A pause.
"I know," he said quietly. "That's the problem."
The car stopped at a private rooftop overlooking the city. Lights glittered below us like something unreal.
He stepped out first, then opened my door himself.
Possessive.
The word settled heavily in my chest.
"Why me?" I asked once we stood alone.
He didn't answer immediately. He moved closer, deliberate until my back met the railing.
"I don't chase women," he said. "I don't interfere in small lives."
I swallowed.
"But you," he continued, lowering his voice, "walk into a room like you don't know how powerful you are."
His hand lifted but stopped just short of my face.
He didn't touch me.
That was worse.
"I won't cross lines you don't invite me to," he said. "But make no mistake, Aria… once a man like me wants something, the world adjusts."
My breath shook.
"You don't get to want me," I whispered. "I'm not something to own."
His eyes darkened.
"I don't want to own you," he said softly.
"I want you to choose me."
A voice interrupted the moment.
"Aria?"
I turned sharply.
Ethan stood frozen a few steps away, eyes burning as they locked onto Dominic then me.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
Dominic didn't move. Didn't step back.
Instead, he leaned in just enough that only I could hear him.
"This," he murmured, "is where it begins."
The air between the three of us cracked.
And I knew
whatever I was standing in now
was no longer just an attraction.
It was war.