She finally turned to him again, lips parted in challenge. “Wanna bet?”
He held her gaze, grin deepening. “Not with odds like that.”
The air between them was pulsing too thick with heat, music, tension. Rio stood close, his hand lightly resting on the bar beside hers, thumb brushing hers in a quiet rhythm that made her skin buzz.
“You always like to play with fire?” she asked, her voice low and teasing, but her heart pounded.
Rio gave her that slow, crooked smile that had melted millions of hearts. “Only when it looks like you.”
His gaze dropped to her lips, and before she could say anything, he closed the distance. It was slow, unhurried like he wanted her to feel every second of it. His breath mingled with hers. Then, his mouth barely grazed hers. Just a whisper of contact. A spark. Enough to make her knees go soft.
But then Kylee pulled back, heart racing. She placed her hand gently on his chest, steadying herself. “I can’t do this,” she breathed. “I’m married.”
Rio paused, eyes searching hers. The desire in them didn’t dim, but something deeper flickered beneath, maybe. Disappointment. Restraint.
“So what” he said softly, voice rough around the edges.
Kylee looked away, her emotions tangling in her chest. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Rio reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re living. That’s all. No pressure.”
She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her voice steady. “This... wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“But it did,” he said simply. “And now you get to decide what it means.”
Kylee took a small step back, needing space to breathe, but somehow it only made her more aware of him. The way his cologne clung to the space between them. The way his voice still hummed low in her chest.
Rio didn’t move closer again, but his presence wrapped around her like a velvet rope. He let out a quiet chuckle, shaking his head. “You’re something else, you know that?” he murmured, eyes dragging over her face like he was trying to memorize it.
Kylee folded her arms, her lips twitching despite herself. “Is that your line when you strike out?”
His eyes lit up. “Only when it’s worth it.”
She looked away, trying to settle the wild rhythm in her chest. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why not?” he asked, stepping around her just enough to brush his shoulder past hers. “You’re not dead, are you? You still feel things. Want things.”
“That’s not the same as doing them,” she said quietly.
“True,” Rio said, leaning in just close enough to make her breath hitch. “But wanting?” His eyes lingered on hers. “That’s the real danger. That’s the part that’ll keep you up at night.”
Kylee swallowed hard. “You think I’ll be lying in bed thinking about you?”
He grinned, slow and sure. “I think you already have.”
She narrowed her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips. “You’re full of yourself.”
“Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But you haven’t walked away yet.”
Their eyes locked, the air charged with things unspoken. Behind them, the party swelled music, laughter, the clink of glasses but it all blurred into background noise.
Rio tilted his head, lowering his voice even further. “Tell me to back off, and I will. No questions asked. But if you don’t... I’ll keep flirting with you all night.”
Kylee bit her lip, the thrill of it making her stomach twist in a way she hadn’t felt in years. She didn’t tell him to stop.She couldn’t.
It was nearly 3 a.m., but the energy in the suite still pulsed like the night was just getting started. Music thumped low, bodies swayed in dim lighting, and laughter spilled like champagne across the room. But for Kylee, the high was starting to fade.
She glanced at the time on her phone, her heels pinching and head buzzing from hours of flirting, dancing, and trying to pretend she wasn’t in a full-blown war with her conscience.
