“I didn’t realize I was that easy.” He cocks an eyebrow, adopting an amused countenance.
Taking a deliberate step forward, I say, “Did you know male fireflies pulse in a sequence?” This earns a confused look from him.“Each species uses its own distinctive flash pattern to communicate, to find a mate.”
His expression dims, all amusement fading as a crease forms between his brows.
“You use a Temporal Authentication Pattern—a TAP—for your access code. That’s clever,” I continue, allowing a despondent smile. “It’s the Fibonacci sequence with an accent on phi.” I tap my fingers lightly against my wrist in demonstration. “You’ve tapped it into me, Orion. On my wrist, my thigh. Emphasizing the seventh tap with heavier pressure, a firmer touch. Like a firefly’s pulse, your own distinctive signal.” I pause, watching as he registers this information.
“I’ve observed your counting ritual so many times, obsessively tapping this sequence over and over. Always twelve taps. I’ve felt the exact pressure on my skin…and I noticed the moment it altered. One small deviation, an extra tap.”
It was after that night on the shore, stranded on a rock together, that his compulsive count changed. The night I must have become his victim, his obsessive thoughts centered on the thirteenth constellation.
And I misread this change.Catastrophically. Believing at the time that Orion himself was the final victim in his pattern.
Orion swallows, eyes never leaving mine. As if triggered, his fingers twitch against the belt:One—thumb.One—index.Two—middle.Three—ring.Five—pinky. Then a finaltapwith his ring finger.
“Ophiuchus,” I say in confirmation. “Thirteen taps. It altered your sequence, and therefore your code.”
His jaw tenses. “Yes, my entire being warped for one anomaly.”
With a controlled exhale, I glance toward the printer tray, bolstering my resolve as I command my legs to move. After I retrieve the printouts, I let my fingers graze over the marble pieces set on the board, selecting one.
I look up at him. “I mimicked your cadence on the touchpad, the plate on your console designed to read the timing and weight of your taps.”
His tongue slowly sweeps his bottom lip as his eyes darken. “Clever little starling,” he whispers hoarsely.
Throat tight, I force a swallow. “I have a knack for pattern recognition.”
“Apparently.” The conflicted pull of his features spears me.
Every stolen breath, every stolen touch, every stolen heartbeat between us?—
They were always numbered.
Orion makes a deep sound, something between frustration and admiration, as his drowsy gaze coasts over me. I also took the liberty of stealing his clothes, wearing one of his oxford shirts and a pair of slim joggers.
“Fuck,” he mutters roughly. “Why do you have to look so goddamn sexy right now.”
An unwanted flare of heat burns through my flesh. “It’s possible I did drug you too heavily,” I say. Tilting my head, I study him closely. “But I have to ask… Did you allow this to happen?”
A storm swirls behind his eyes, hurt tangled with currents of anger that twists my heart into a painful knot. His gaze holds mine intently before lowering to the chess piece clutched in my right hand.
With a weighted exhale, he says, “Chess isn’t just about the moves on the board. It’s all the moves off it, too. All the subtle actions leading to that critical moment. The way you hold your breath in anticipation when you want something. The fury you try so hard to smother. How your fingers curl into fists when you can’t. It’s not that I was expecting something specific—” He manages to shift his forearm, the belt strapping his wrists creaks with the movement. “I was just expecting something.”
“You read me pretty well, too.” My pulse hammers in my neck, fingers tightening around the marble piece. “For what it’s worth, you did surprise me. Turning me into your victim.” I shake my head lightly. “I honestly wasn’t expecting that, Orion. However, you also saved me?—”
“And I seem to find myself deeper in trouble every time I do.” The corner of his mouth tics upward, failing to mask the dejected resignation behind the hardened planes of his face.
“Well, intentional or not, you played some good moves to divert me,” I say.
“Hmm, maybe.” His voice drops dangerously low, eyes heating as his lips twist into a wicked grin. “But I admit, your move is so much hotter, little starling.” He flexes his wrist against the leather, sending me a devastating wink.
“I looked through your code,” I say quickly, and the mention of his algorithm immediately captures his full, furious attention. “Orion, I could’ve never been one of your victims. The moment you fixated on me, you made me one. I tried to find the proof of that, but your code… Truly, it’s above my capabilities. But you had to have altered something, some parameter.”
“I could never have predicted you. Not enough data points.”
“I’m not a set of data points.” My shoulders drop in a low shrug. “I’m just a girl with a score to settle.”
Reflexively, I fist the cool object in my hand. Despite the anguish ripping me open inside, despite the threat he still poses, I daringly close the final gap between us. Placing the printouts on the edge of the bed, I ease myself down beside him. Close enough that his scent of wild ocean spray sears my throat.
