Rio poured himself another drink and leaned back, his legs spread in that effortless, confident way. “You’ve got this… mystery to you,” he said, watching her over the rim of his glass. “Sweet. Composed. But something about you tells me there’s a storm under there.”
Kylee laughed, tipping her head slightly. “A storm?”
“Yeah,” he said, lowering his glass. “The kind that doesn’t just roll through. The kind that tears everything down and makes you remember what it means to feel alive.”
Her breath caught for a second, maybe it was the whiskey, or maybe it was the way his words touched something she hadn’t let anyone near in years.
“You’re poetic for a rockstar,” she teased, swirling the drink in her hand.
He smirked. “You’d be surprised what lyrics are born from pain.”
They were close now. Too close. The air between them pulsed with something unsaid. Kylee glanced around. Kelly was laughing, completely lost in conversation. The room felt hazy and electric.
Rio’s fingers brushed the edge of her knee casual, but intentional. “So….you got a man?”
Kylee’s lips parted, her heart skipping. “A husband.. He’s the one who got me the tickets.”
“Interesting,” Rio said, leaning in, his voice low. “He knows you’re at this after party?”
Her mouth went dry. She set her glass down slowly. “He told me to have fun so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind”
The music thumped louder, like the beat had synced with the tension in her chest. Kylee held his gaze, something stirring in her belly not just lust, but power.
She hadn’t felt truly seen in years. And now, under the amber glow of a private party, she was being devoured without a single touch.
Rio set his glass down with a soft clink, eyes darkening as he leaned in. He didn’t touch her, not yet but his presence wrapped around her like smoke. “You know,” he murmured, voice low and sinful, “you’re driving me insane sitting there like that. Looking like you were made to wreck a man’s self-control.”
Kylee let out a soft laugh, a breathy sound that barely masked her pulse quickening. She kept her posture relaxed, legs crossed, finger tips swirling lazily around the rim of her glass. “I’m just sitting,” she said, feigning innocence. “You might want to work on your control.”
Rio's smile was slow and devastating. “Oh, I have control, sweetheart,” he said, his gaze dropping briefly to her mouth. “But if you keep looking at me like you want to be kissed senseless, don’t expect me to pretend I don’t notice.”
Kylee bit the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling too much. “You’re very sure of yourself.”
“Only when it comes to things I know,” he said, eyes locked on hers. “And I know chemistry when it’s this loud.”
She tilted her head, keeping her voice playful.
“And what do you plan to do with all that chemistry?”
Rio leaned in a little closer, close enough for his lips to almost graze her ear. “Right now? Suffer. Because the way you’re holding back… that’s the hottest part.”
A shiver ran down her spine, but she held steady. “Good,” she whispered, standing smoothly. “A little anticipation never hurt anyone.” She walked toward the bar, hips swaying with just enough intent to leave him stunned in her wake. Behind her, Rio exhaled a rough breath and sank deeper into the couch, his eyes never leaving her. She was going to be the death of him. And she wasn’t even trying.
When Kylee returned to the couch with two drinks in hand, Rio was still exactly where she’d left him sprawled back like a man on the edge of either surrender or detonation. His eyes tracked her every step, unapologetically hungry, but there was amusement there too.
She handed him a fresh drink with a sly smile. “Thought you might need something to cool down.”
Rio took it with a chuckle, fingers brushing hers. “You trying to be helpful,” he said, “is the cruelest kind of foreplay.”
She raised an eyebrow, sipping her own drink. “Foreplay implies something’s going to happen.”
“Oh, something’s happening,” he said with a grin, leaning forward on his elbows. “You’re just playing the long game. Drawing it out. Making me imagine things that are definitely illegal in some states.”
Kylee laughed, shaking her head as she sat beside him again a careful few inches of space between them. “You seem like the kind of guy who gets what he wants.”
“I usually do,” Rio said, his voice dropping a notch. “But something tells me you like to make people work for it.”
She met his gaze, unflinching. “I don’t give easy.”
