Her brow arched, but he could sense her composure slipping, the tightness around her eyes, the quick flash of her tongue wetting her lips.“At what, exactly?”
“At him.At you.At myself.”The words left him raw, stripped bare.He didn’t know when he’d let someone see him like this, maybe never.But he couldn’t seem to stop.
She drew in a sharp breath, her lips parting in surprise.“You have no reason to be angry with me.”
He shook his head, running a hand through his hair, feeling impatient and frustrated by his own honesty.“I don’t,” he said, voice rasping.“But it doesn’t change that I am.”
He let his gaze roam over her, memorizing the curve of her jaw, the way her chest rose and fell.Months of holding back, of watching from the periphery, pressed in on him all at once.“I’ve watched you for months.Telling myself it was just curiosity.That it would fade.But today—” He broke off, searching her face for something he couldn’t name.“Today seeing you with him, something in me snapped.I didn’t like it.”
Her eyes softened, but she was bracing herself, holding tight to her own edges.“You’re jealous.”
He barked out a rough, humorless laugh.“Jealous shouldn’t be one of the things I am.”He closed the distance, stopping only when he could feel the faint tremor of her breath against his chest.“But yes,” he said, voice low, almost reverent.“It seems I am.”
Her pulse leapt at her throat, and for a moment, all he could think about was tasting it, feeling her surrender.Her breaths were shallow, uneven, as if the air was suddenly too thick to draw in.“You’ve known me for half a dozen conversations and a few letters, Rezer.This—” she gestured, and he caught the tremor in her hand, “whatever you think this is—it’s not real.”
He didn’t touch her.He didn’t need to.The space between them was charged, a storm waiting to break.“Then why can’t I walk away?”
He saw it, the catch in her breath, the way her body leaned infinitesimally closer, as if drawn by gravity.The tension snapped taut, humming in the narrow distance that remained.
“Don’t,” she whispered, repeating herself.The word vibrated between them, more plea than command.
He leaned in, so close he felt like he could practically taste her, the edge of her jaw just out of reach.His voice was dark, even to his own ears.“All day, I’ve watched you.The way you move, the way you smile—” He let the truth spill out, unguarded.“You undo me.You calm me in a way I don’t deserve.”
Her eyes flickered, some softening there, but her jaw stayed stubborn.“You’re not at peace, Rezer.You’re bored, and I’m something new and shiny.”
He smiled, slow and devastating, letting her see the hunger he usually kept caged.“Maybe.Maybe not.But what I know for certain is near you, I feel something that isn’t chaos.Something that isn’t darkness.”
He let the words hang, then, aching with restraint, he started to lift his hand and reached for the line of her jaw, then stopped himself, fingers curling into a fist.The restraint was agony, more than any battlefield wound he’d ever known.“You have nothing to fear from me,” he said, softer, almost a prayer.“But I can’t pretend you don’t matter.That I’m not burning for you, every minute I’m near you.”
She didn’t back away.She stood her ground, fierce as always.“You should go.”
“I should,” he agreed, but didn’t move.His gaze dropped to her lips, lingered there, then rose to meet her eyes, taking in every detail, every flicker of want and defiance.“But I won’t.”
She swallowed, the moment stretched taut, trembling with everything unspoken.“Rezer?—”
He leaned in, letting his mouth hover just above hers, close enough to taste her breath.“I’ll indulge you this,” he whispered, each word a dark promise.“I won’t kiss you until you beg me to.And you will, lovely Lisa.”
He forced himself to step back—one sharp, painful stride that felt like tearing skin from bone.The loss of her heat, her scent, was like the sudden absence of gravity.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said, his tone softer now, but the hunger in it was unmistakable.
She lifted her brows, her voice barely a whisper.“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He gave a crooked, hungry smile.“I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever had.”
He turned, crossing the shop in long, measured strides.The bell above the door chimed as he left, but the echo of her presence clung to him, sharp and sweet as the promise of a storm.
Outside, the cold night air bit at his skin, but he barely felt it.He crossed the street, senses still filled with Lisa, her scent, the heat of her body, the stubborn tilt of her jaw.Everything else blurred at the edges, insignificant compared to the memory of her pulse, the taste of her defiance.
As he walked, the quiet hum of human life dimmed behind him.But with each step, a heaviness crept through his limbs—a familiar, unwelcome pull.The light around him seemed to thin, his breath shortening, his magic draining as though the very air were leeching it away.
He stopped under the weak glow of a streetlamp, gripping the post until the dizziness eased.Beneath the surface of his skin, something darker stirred.Something ancient and waiting.He could almost hear it whisper, like an echo from a place long sealed away.
He looked back at Enigma, the windows glowing gold against the dark.He could just make out her silhouette, moving behind the glass, utterly unaware that she had lit a fire inside him that would not easily be extinguished.
The darkness inside him shifted again, hungry, curious.
And for the first time, Rezer didn’t push it back.
