Victor closed the space between them with a single step. His scent hit Elias first, warm and dark, like crushed resin and smoke from cedar embers. Something old and familiar. Something that had always been said to be mine.
His hand came up, fingers sliding along Elias's jaw before pinching gently at his chin, guiding, no, insisting, that Elias look at him.
Victor's eyes smoldered with crimson, as if his rage was burning inside and he couldn't let it out. Elias's hazel eyes met that flame without wavering.
The ocean outside breathed against the shore, long and quiet. The curtains whispered along the floor. The room was warm, but the air between their bodies felt taut, almost sharp.
Victor's voice was calm now. Darker for it.
"Look at me."
Elias did. His hazel eyes met Victor's crimson ones, deep and molten like a coal banked just before it flares. Victor's breath warmed the space between them, tinged with the cool salt of the sea he had walked through.
