SYLAS
You make it so hard not to fall for you, Aria.
God, why the hell did I say that?
The words dropped from my mouth like I was vomiting them out. And the moment they were out there... suspended in the air between us, wrapped in the scent of alcohol and something softer... I couldn't take them back.
I didn't even want to.
Not really.
But f*ck, I was terrified.
Aria turned to me slowly. "Sylas…" she said my name in that careful way... like it was something fragile. Like I was something fragile.
I tried to read her expression but everything was blurred... by the drinks, the lights, her goddamn face. She was kneeling on the seat like a painting, framed by the sky, and all I could do was stare.
I'd always known this would happen.
Maybe not now.
Maybe not here.
But one day.
One day, it was going to spill out of me. Because it had been building for months... ever since I saw her for the first time, all sharp edges and soft eyes and sadness she tried to hide with sarcasm.
