My stomach growls, slicing through the silence. The best thing about Elgar, you can almost make anything happen, so long as you don’t mess with the laws of Kvirr. Opening the massive fridge, its shelves packed with exotic foods I’m too cautious to try, I reach for a bottle of fairy wine, waiting quietly inside. Opening the pantry, I find glass jars lined up, identifiedfor different jams, syrups and nut butters. A jar of PB and some dark chocolate, that’s close enough toReese’s.
Fuck, I miss those.
After my munchies, I realize that Kai is keeping guard, typical of him. I gulp down a second glass because I need some liquid courage, typical of me. Then pour another before forcing my legs to move forward, grabbing a blanket to shield myself from the winter’s bite. I slip into a pair of slippers; no way I’m dealing with combat boots right now.
The night is calm, the moon the only light glimmering over the heavy snow. Somehow, the cold doesn’t cut through me like it did that first night in Kallahan. Which is strange, since it was still the beginning of autumn back then.
Taking a deep breath in, I let the cold wash over me, and I wouldn’t have noticed him if it weren’t for the prickling sensation trailing down my spine. In the corner of the porch, he stands. Still, almost melting into the darkness. Only his steely eyes catch the light, his black balaclava hiding half his face. I can’t help but be drawn closer until Kai’s presence towers over me. A shiver runs through me, my nerves making my heart race.
“Cold?”
“Mmm, no. Not really,” I wave a hand like it’s no big deal. He leans in, his face inches from mine.
“So… am I the reason you’re shivering?”
Raising an eyebrow, I take a long sip of fairy wine, my sweet floral poison. “Someone’s really full of himself,” I snort.
“Yeah, well,” Kai growls, that smug tone curling around his words like smoke. “Since you walked through that door, I’ve been watching you. And your little heart? It only started running wild when you noticedme.”
I roll my eyes.
If he thinks I’m going toadmitthat, he clearly inhaled too much of his own ego.
“Yeah, because you look like a fucking serial killer lurking in the dark!” I snap, crossing my arms.
After what he pulled with Heather, he can rot in hell for all I care. And yet… the smug bastard just hums. No arguments, just that infuriating sound.
I roll my eyes and start to turn away, but a sudden tug yanks me back. His grip catches my hair, firm, pulling me flush against a wall of heat and muscles. A gasp escapes me before I can stop it. My wine glass slips from my hand and shatters at my feet, the blanket following suit. One of Kai’s arms snakes around my waist, the other still tangled in my hair, holding me in place.
“You forget,” he murmurs against my ear, voice low and rough through the fabric of his mask, “I cansmellyou. I know what this does to you. Me watching from the shadows, eyes on every inch of your perfect body.”
In one swift motion, he spins me, pressing me back against the brick wall. One arm braced above my head, the other splayed across my stomach, his touch a burning spark even through the fabric of my shirt. It sends a lightning bolt straight to my core. Kai lowers his forehead to mine, gaze locked on me. With the moon glowing behind him, his silhouette is all sharp lines and tension, and I can see it, feel it. The beast just beneath the surface, clawing its way up. And Kvirr helps me…I love it.
The way I get under his skin.
The way I leave him just a little less in control.
That kind of power? It’s dangerous—Addictive.
“Still not cold?” Kai asks, his voice low and amused. I follow his gaze downward, my nipples stretching the fabric thin.
“Not cold,” I whisper.
Something shifts in his expression, a switch flips, and his eyes go dark, wild.
“Take it off,” he commands, an order he expects me to follow without hesitation, and… I listen.
My fingers drift on their own accord to the hem of my shirt, the white cotton brushing over my skin as I start to lift it. Kai’s growl is low, feral. And honestly, that sound alone is all the reward my ego needs.
“You’re not allowed to touch,” the words slip out before I can stop them, bold, maybe even a little petty. But somewhere in the fog of the heat, there's still that faint echo of reason reminding me I’m supposed to bemadat him.
Iammad at him.
...Right?
Except it’s getting harder to remember why when all I want is to fall into this, into him, and let everything else burn for a little while. The playfulness in Kai’s face vanishes, replaced by something colder; his eyes narrow.
“Yes, I am.”
