The club was a living heartbeat.
It pulsed with color and sound,deep bass, flashing lights, perfume and alcohol thick in the air. Eliana had always hated places like this. It felt like standing in someone else's life: a loud, glittering world that expected her to smile wider, dance harder, drink faster.
But tonight, she didn't protest.
Her friends were already scattered across the floor, laughing, sipping cocktails, leaning into the music like they belonged to it. Eliana sat at a velvet booth just off the main dance area, a glass of dry rosé in hand, legs crossed, her black dress hugging her body like it had been sewn for this exact moment.
Still, she wasn't really there.
She never was.
Her body was in the room, but her mind still wandered to places she wasn't allowed to go. To Kai. To the boy with eyes full of fire and the man who had stolen her breath three weeks ago in an airport without ever touching her.
She let her head lean back against the cushioned booth. The music washed over her like waves, rhythmic and relentless. She sipped her drink slowly, letting the alcohol dull the sharp edge of her thoughts.
You have to let him go, she told herself.
But it wasn't that simple. It never had been.
There were men watching her. She could feel it. The kind of looks that lingered too long,hungry, expectant, full of assumptions. But she didn't care. She'd learned how to ignore eyes that wanted her for reasons that had nothing to do with who she was.
Until she felt his.
Not him.
Not Kai.
Not yet.
But something in her spine straightened. A stillness. Like the quiet that comes just before a storm.
She turned her head slightly, letting her eyes scan the room without giving herself away.
And there he was.
At the far side of the bar. Half-shadowed. A figure leaning against the wall with a glass in one hand, the other hanging casually at his side. Tall. Broad shoulders. A face carved by time and intensity. Tattoos like stories wrapped around strong forearms.
Her heart stilled.
No.
It can't be.
She blinked, leaned forward just a little, hoping the dim lights and crowd would give her the illusion of cover.
But the man didn't move. Didn't smile.
He just watched her.
Their eyes locked.
And in that moment, the world narrowed into a single point.
There were no flashing lights. No bass. No crowd.
Just him.
Eliana's breath caught in her throat.
His gaze wasn't like the others. It didn't devour or demand. It studied. Curious. Quiet. Intense.
He didn't recognize her.
Of course he didn't.
To him, she was just another woman in a tight dress, sitting alone, too still for a place like this. Not trying to get his attention. Not begging for a photo. Not a fan, not a follower. Just… different.
Still, the way he looked at her made her skin prickle. Like maybe,maybe something in him stirred too. A memory without a name.
She looked away first. Her heart thundered like it had broken into flight.
It's not him.
Even if it is, it doesn't matter. He won't remember you. You're a stranger.
Her phone buzzed in her clutch. A message from Sienna:
"Where'd you go? Come dance. You're wasting that dress."
Eliana closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and typed back:
"In a booth. Just need air. I'll find you in a bit."
When she glanced up again, he was gone.
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
The night passed in a blur of shallow conversation and warm alcohol. She danced a little—smiling when she had to, nodding when someone tried to flirt. But her mind kept drifting back to that gaze. Those eyes.
She returned to her room just past 2 a.m., heels in her hand, head spinning. The hallway was dim and silent, the carpet soft beneath her aching feet. She fumbled with the keycard, the lock blinking red twice before it finally clicked green.
The door creaked open.
She stepped inside...
And froze.
There was someone in the room.