Alexis hadn't even taken two sips of her wine when her door buzzed.
She froze.
Ivy wouldn't buzz up. Ivy had keys.
Her stomach dropped.
She crossed the living room barefoot, wine glass still in hand. Peeked through the peephole.
Kai.
Of course it was.
The dark coat. The calm expression. That maddening arrogance in the tilt of his head like the whole goddamn building was his.
She didn't open the door.
She should've.
She shouldn't have.
But she stood there, heart racing.
The buzzer rang again.
"Alexis."
His voice was low, muffled through the wood.
"I know you're there."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Let me in."
No.
She wouldn't.
She couldn't.
But her hand was already on the lock.
The door clicked open.
He didn't rush in. He didn't smirk.
He just looked at her.
And her stomach clenched the way it always did when he was near, heat spiraling from her spine to the ache between her legs like instinct.
She backed up.
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.
No hello. No apology.
Just heat.
He took in her bare legs, her oversized T-shirt, the wine glass still in her hand. His gaze stopped at her lips.
"Still mad?"
She didn't answer.
His eyes gleamed.
"Still pretending I don't fuck you better than anyone else ever has?"
That..that..made her throat tighten.
"Leave," she said. Weak. Unconvincing.
"No."
She turned away. Walked to the kitchen. He followed.
"I told you I'm not looking for anything serious," he murmured, voice velvet over gravel. "But I'm not letting you disappear, Alexis. Not now."
She downed the wine in one swallow.
"I'm not yours," she said, glass hitting the counter too hard.
"You're not," he agreed. "But that's never stopped me."
He stepped closer.
"You left marks," he added, almost a whisper. "Nail scratches on my back. Fingerprints on my thighs."
Her eyes snapped to his.
"And?"
"And I want more."
Silence.
Tension.
Her heart pounded like it wanted out of her chest.
He raised a hand, slowly and brushed her hair back from her face. Fingertips barely touching.
Her breath hitched.
He leaned in, lips brushing her ear.
"You want to tell me to stop, tell me now."
She didn't.
Not when he kissed her.
Not when his hands slid up her shirt, fingertips grazing her stomach like he already knew the rhythm of her breath.
Not when he lifted her onto the counter and parted her thighs.
She let him in.
Because her body remembered.
And her mind was too tired to keep pretending.
The kitchen was chaos.
Her legs wrapped around his hips.
His coat on the floor. Her shirt bunched under her arms.
He was all hands and mouth and heat.
"Say it," he whispered against her neck. "Say you missed me."
"No."
His fingers slipped between her legs. She gasped.
"Liar."
She hated how right he sounded.
His lips brushed her collarbone.
"You missed the way I take you. The way I ruin you. The way you forget everything when I'm inside you."
"Fuck you," she whispered.
"Please do."
She shoved at his chest. He caught her wrists. Pinned them above her head with one hand. His other slid down, down...
She moaned.
"You came for this," she whispered.
He licked her throat. "No. I came for you. This is just how I keep you from running."
He kissed her again. Deeper this time. Hungry.
She let him consume her.
Because for all her fire, her rage, her plans,
She'd never been more wanted.
And that did something dangerous to her soul.
They ended up in her bedroom.
No clothes.
No barriers.
He took his time. Slow strokes. Long kisses. Her name like a sin on his tongue.
She clawed at him. Bit him. Whimpered his name.
They didn't speak.
Not really.
But they both knew this wasn't just sex anymore.
This was war.
Obsession. Desire. Confusion. Control.
He rolled her over, took her from behind, one hand on her throat, the other tangled in her red hair. She came undone around him, crying out into the pillow, teeth clenched to hold in everything she wouldn't admit.
He followed seconds later, spilling into her with a low, broken growl.
They lay there for a long time.
Sweat-slick. Breathing hard.
Kai's hand traced lazy circles on her hip. His lips pressed to her shoulder.
"You hate me," he murmured.
She said nothing.
"You'll leave anyway."
Still, she said nothing.
"I'll let you go," he said finally, barely audible. "But not yet."
She wanted to tell him she wasn't staying.
But instead, she rolled into his chest and let him hold her.
Just for now.