“A vacation romance?” I repeat, raising an eyebrow. “That’s what you think this is?”
His jaw tightens, a muscle working beneath his skin. “I don’t care what you think. I care about you not getting killed, which is exactly what’s going to happen if you keep acting like everything’s fine.”
“Killed?”
I swallow hard.
I kinda assumed these men had dangerous pasts, which is why I’m stuck in the middle of this right now, but Ryder’s words totally unnerve me.
“What are you talking about?” I continue. “Ryder, what are you saying?”
His eyes narrow as he steps closer, his body towering over me. There’s almost no room between us now, and every inch of me screams to push him away, to distance myself from the tension, but I can’t move.
“You think you can just walk into this world without understanding the danger?” His voice lowers, quieter now, butthe venom in it cuts through the air. “You think this is some game, some joke? You’re playing with things you don’t even understand, and you have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
He reaches for me, his hand coming out as if to grab my wrist, but I flinch back before he can make contact. Everything crackles between us, overwhelming with everything unsaid. Every harsh word, every unshed emotion.
“I didn’t ask for this,” I snap, my frustration spilling out. “But I’m here, and I’m trying to deal with it… however I can.”
Ryder’s eyes narrow further, his jaw clenched. He’s so close I can feel the heat of his body radiating off him, and my heart starts to pound in my chest.
“Are you serious?” I snap, my chest heaving with anger. “I’m here because you brought me here, and I’ll be gone before you know it.”
Ryder doesn’t flinch. In fact, he steps closer, his presence looming like a storm ready to break. “You’re not ready for this world. It’s going to hit you hard, Aurora. And you’ll get burned. When the time is right, you go.”
The words hit hard as a slap to the face, and they rattle everything inside me. I don’t know what to do with the hurt that surges in my chest. But I don’t back down. I never do.
“You don’t get to decide what I’m built for,” I fire back, loud, raw, and unfiltered. “I didn’t ask for any of this, but I’m here, and I’m not running away just because you think I’m too fragile for your world.”
I expect him to back off. I expect him to say something, anything, that could diffuse the tension crackling between us. But he doesn’t.
Instead, Ryder crowds me against the wall, his presence overwhelming. His gaze locks onto mine, unyielding. The room is shrinking, the walls are pressing in, and all I can focus on is him.
His breath is rhythmic, but there’s emotion in his eyes that I can’t place. It’s dangerous and dark.
I swallow, my pulse hammering in my throat. “Ryder,” I say. “What are you…?”
Before I can finish the sentence, his hand slams against the wall beside me, the movement so close it steals my breath. The seconds stretch out, taut with unspoken words. His arm is a mere inch from my face, his body nearly touching mine, and I can feel the heat radiating off him. It’s overwhelming, suffocating, and I can’t seem to move, can’t seem to breathe.
I stare up at him, trapped in this unbearable moment, waiting for something to break between us.
His eyes flick to my lips. Just for a split second, he’s overcome by a dangerous flicker of desire, and the world stops.
Every breath halts in my chest.
His proximity, the atmosphere pulsing with our closeness, sends a wave of need washing over me. It’s primal, urgent, and I feel my body respond against my will, leaning closer to him, even though I know I shouldn’t.
I close my eyes, and everything is dizzying. Every inch of my skin is alight with an unbearable longing, and I can’t stop myself from curling my fists into the fabric of my clothes, desperate to ground myself in anything.
His breath ghosts against my ear as his face moves closer. Just a millimeter away from mine, and I swear the space between us is humming with anticipation, every part of me begging for the kiss I know is coming…
But then, just when I think he’s going to kiss me, when I’m teetering on the edge of emotions I can’t control, he pulls away.
Not just an inch.
He steps back completely, the space between us becoming an unbearable chasm.
My body fights the absence of him like someone drowning reaches for air.
