Alexis stood in the bathroom, towel clinging to her damp skin, staring at the fogged mirror like it might reveal something she couldn't see in herself. Ten days. That was what the email said yesterday. But she didn't open it this morning. She couldn't.
Outside the door, she could hear Kai pacing. His presence was unmistakable, his stillness loud, his energy heavy. And she knew he'd sensed the shift in her the moment she woke up. He always did.
"Are you alright?" his voice floated in, careful, almost too careful.
"Fine," she called back, drying off slowly. Deliberately.
When she stepped out, wrapped in one of his robes, Kai was leaning against the wall like sin in human form. His eyes dragged over her body before locking on her face. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to.
"I want to go out," she said.
"Anywhere in mind?"
"Just somewhere normal. A coffee shop maybe. Something that doesn't scream vampire sex cult."
His lips twitched. "You wound me."
But he agreed. And minutes later, they were sitting across from each other at a quiet café tucked into a street that barely saw foot traffic. Alexis ordered something sweet. Kai, of course, didn't order anything.
He watched her stir her drink, tapping her spoon against the glass.
"You're distant," he said finally.
She gave him a look. "You're observant."
"You're thinking too much."
"I'm allowed to think."
"Not when it starts to feel like you're slipping away."
Her eyes met his. "Maybe I was never yours to hold."
He leaned forward. "But you're here."
"For now."
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes, but he didn't lash out. Instead, he reached across the table and ran a finger across her wrist. A soft, gentle touch. But it felt like a brand.
"You want to run?" he asked.
She didn't answer. She didn't have to.
Back in his home, she moved around like a ghost. Kai watched her with hunger and frustration tangled beneath his skin. When she finally passed him in the hallway, he caught her wrist again.
"Don't walk past me like I don't exist."
"You always exist," she murmured. "That's the problem."
Then she kissed him.
Hard. Needy. Like she wanted to forget everything.
He responded instantly, backing her into the wall, hands exploring the curves he already knew too well. She pulled him into the bedroom, dragging his shirt off, tasting him like it was the last time.
And maybe it was.
He laid her out like a feast, and she devoured him right back. It was unhinged. Desperate. Filthy.
After, they lay tangled in each other's heat. Alexis stared at the ceiling, thinking of open skies and the feeling of leaving. Kai turned to her, brushing sweat-slick hair from her face.
"You're not saying something."
"No," she whispered, "I'm trying not to."
And he, for once, didn't push.
Because even he could feel it.
The countdown had already started.
But tonight, they had silence, and skin, and shadows to bury the truth.
And that was enough.
...for now.