Ava Carter balances a paper bag in one hand and her keys in the other,nudging her apartment door.open with her hip.The warm smell of the Thai takeout filled the hallway.she smiled,picturing Ethan's reaction when she shaved up early for the weekend trip.
They've been together for three years.He always said surprises were her specialty.
Her heels clicked over the hardwood as she walked toward the bedroom.she didn't bother knocking-why will she?
The first thing she noticed was the sound-low,breathless murmurs,muffled laughter.then the tangle of bare on the bed.
Ava's gaze froze on the familiar pale-gold hair spilling over the pillow.CLAIRE
Her best friend
For a second,her brain refused to connect the dots.then Ethan's voice cut through the haze,rough with pleasure-and everything clicked.
Ava didn't scream,she didn't cry,she didn't give them the performance they probably expected.instead,she walked to the dresser,set the takeout bag down like it weighed nothing and turned for the door.
Claire's startled gasp followed her out.Ethan called her name once.she didn't look back.
By the time the door clicked shut,her hands were steady.Her chest felt like it was on fire.
The neon sign outside Carter's flickered weakly,painting the wet sidewalk in sickly blue.inside,the air was heavy with whiskey and old wood.Ava slid onto a barstool and ordered a bouble,tossing it back before she could think.
She wasn't a drinker.But tonight wasn't about rules.Tonight was about forgetting.
She was halfway through her second shot when she felt it-a shift in the air,like the temperature had dropped a few degrees.someone slid onto the stool beside her,moving with a kind of self-assurance that made people glance twice.
Dark suit,perfect fit.A silver watch glinted on his wrist,catching the dim light.and those eyes-dark,steady,too sharp to be casual.
"You look like someone who's having the worst night of her life",he said,his voice lie and smooth.
She let out a humorless laugh"that obvious huh?"
He tried his head slightly,studying her like she was a puzzle."Tell me ".
"What? So you can give me bad advice?"she replied softly
His mouth curved,not quite a smile."No so I can give you something better".
The whiskey burned its way down,but it wasn't enough to numb the ache.Ava swirled and amber the liquid in her glass,watching the ice spin like it was the only thing she could control.
The stranger beside her hadn't taken his eyes off her.
"What's your name?" He asked
She hesitated."Does it matter?"
"Not tonight",he gaze dropped briefly to her lips,Chan back to her eyes,slow and deliberate.
Her pulse kicked up."And yours?"
His mouth curved in a way that felt like both a warning and a promise."DANTE".
The name said in her skin like a secret.she should have looked away.instead,she learned in,cought in a pull that made no sense.
The music crumped low in the background.somewhere across the room,a glass shattered.The world felt blur except for him.
"Come with me ",he said.it wasn't a question.
She almost laughed-the audacity,the certainty in his voice,But when his hand brushed hers,the warmth shot straight to her chest and left her breathless.
Without answering,she stood.he tossed a bill on the counter,never breaking eye contact and took her hand.
They moved through the crowd like the sea parting around them.His presence seemed to command space-people stepped aside without realizing why.
Outside,the air was damp,carrying the city's nighttime hum.A sleek black town car idled at the curb,its driver already opening the door.
Ava paused,every rational thought screaming to walk away.Danta glanced back,his eyes catching the streetlight-dark,intensely daring her.
One step,then another,she slid into the leather seat beside him,the door closing with a quiet thunk that felt far too final.
The drive was a blur of silence and heat.His thigh brushed hers,the contact light but yielding.her breath came shallow,he fingers curling against the seat.
When the car stopped in front of a towering glass hotel,Dante didn't speak.He simply took her hand again,led her through the lobby into the elevator.
The mirror walls reflect the sharp line of his jaw,the way his gaze never left her every floor they passed seams to tighten the coil inside her chest.
By the time the elevator doors slid open,she knew she wasn't walking into a room but into a choice she couldn't undo.
The door closed behind them with a soft click,but the sound was final,like the world outside no longer existed.
The room was dim,not only by the glow spilling from the city skyline beyond the wall of the glass.Ava's breath caught-not because of the view but because of the way Danta stood there watching her.
He shrugged off his jacket,revealing the crisp line of his shirt,the tension in shoulders.The air between them felt electric,charged with something unspoken but undeniable.
"You can still leave",he said quietly,but his tone didn't sound like an invitation,it sounded like a test.
Ava's heart pounded.she should have said no.she should have walked out,called a cab,gone home to nurse her wounds in private.
Instead,she took a step closer,"I'm not leaving".
Something shifted in his gaze-a flicker of heart approval and possession.
He closed the distance in two strides.one hand cupped her jaw,directing her face toward his."Good".
He kissed her,the kiss wasn't gentle.it was deep,claiming pulling the air from her lungs.His mouth moved with a hunger that mirrored the ache inside her-the need to forget,to feel something that wasn't betrayal.
Her fingers tangled in the fabric of his shirt,pulling him closer. The faint scent of whiskey and cedar surrounded her,grounding and dizzying at once.
When they broke apart his thumb brushed her lower lip."you taste like trouble",he murmured
"You don't even know the half of it"she whispered
He smiled faintly,but it didn't reach his eyes."I know enough".
The rest was a blur-his hands on her waist,her back pressing into cool sheets,the city lights spilling across their skin.every touch felt deliberate,every movement edged with control.
Ava woke to soft light spilling across the room and the muffled hum of the city far below.
Her head ached-not just from the whiskey,but from the weight of memory.heat and hands,the way his voice had wrapped around her,the way she'd let herself forget everything except him.
The bed beside her was empty.
For a moment,she thought he'd left without a word.but then she heard it-the faint sound of running water from the bathroom.
She slid out of the bed,getting her cloth quietly.the room smelled like him-cedar,smoke,and something darker she couldn't name.
Her gaze swept the nightstand for her phone,she tried to get it,instead,her fingers brushed over something smooth.
A black business card.
She picked it up,frowning,the name was printed with bold silver letters.
Dante Moretti-Moretti enterprises.
Her stomach tightened.she knew that name,everyone did.even people who pretended they didn't.
The Morettis weren't just wealthy-they were the kind of powerful that lived in whispers.politicians courted them,cops avoided them and the unlucky crossed them only once.
Ava stared at the card,her pulse drumming in her ears.she wasn't naive.She'd just spent the night with a man tied to one of the most dangerous families in the city.
The water shut off.Panic jolted through her.
Shoving the card into her purse,she slipped on her heels and crossed to the door.Her hand was on the handle when she heard his voice behind her-calm,unhurried but certain.
"Running off without breakfast?"
She froze but didn't turn around."I have somewhere to be".
There was a pause.then,a low chuckle that sent a shiver down her spine."we'll see each other again,Ava".
She didn't remember telling him her name.
When the door closed behind her,she knew two things for certain;she'd make a mistake and Dante Moretti was not finished with her.