Mia's heart still pounded, Jace Wilder's last words, "You know where to find me when you're done pretending," sticking to her like a dark promise she couldn't shake. The thrum of the dive bar's neon pulse ran through her, its crimson and sapphire glow creating jagged shadows that seemed to mock her turmoil. The air was heavy, thick with the musk of sweat, whiskey, and unspoken desire, clinging to her skin like a smothering embrace. She sat on a stool at the bar, Lucas's hand hovering at the small of her back, his touch a lifeline and a spark that lit an aching confusion in her chest. The crimson woman's dress clung to her curves, a traitor that left her feeling exposed, every piece of fabric a reminder of the eyes that had scoured over her-most of all, Jace's. His eyes had undressed her bare, and she was consumed by a reckless hunger she didn't comprehend, and now, with Lucas so close, she felt trapped in a snare of her own devising, torn between safety and the abyss. Lucas's hazel eyes bore into her, their warmth charged with an unadulterated intensity that made her breath catch. He leaned in, his form a wall against the bar's chaos, the crush of bodies and throbbing music disappearing under the weight of his presence. "You're trembling, Mia," he said, low and rough, concerned and more, and it made her heart twist with guilt and ache with longing. His fingers were soft and steady against her back, burning but not enough to hurt her, each press a question she wasn't prepared to answer. "Talk to me. "What's going on?" she swallowed hard, the burn of the vodka still lingering in her throat but it cannot drown the storm in her chest. I'm fine, she lied, because her voice was a thread, barely audible over the din of the bar. But she wasn't fine. Jace's words had sank into her, his smirk taunting her, echoing in her head with the promise of chaos she was both terrified of and yearning for. And Lucas her best friend, her anchor, was looking at her like she was something precious, something he'd fight to protect, and it scared her. His promise to "together" was a deception, a desperate defense against the devour of Jace's predation, but it had ignited something genuine, something that made her skin tingle and her heart ache with a longing that she dared not to name. Don't do that, he said, with his voice a bit sharper, a touch strained with frustration. "Don't shut me out, Mia. Not after that." He looked over at the place Jace had stood, his arm pinching her as though he could literally prevent her from falling off the ledge. That guy's a motherfucking predator. "Something like that," she said, licking her lips, but the words felt empty and she could still hear her heart pounding when she thought of Jace's eyes. She'd heard of his reputation- heartbreaker, destroyer, a man who left women broken in his path. She'd heard the tales, seen the destruction in the eyes of girls who'd fallen for his appeal. He was a wildfire, burning everything in his wake, and yet when he called her angel his voice was so thickly sinful a part of her had opened itself up, and wanted to burn, to let him unravel her until she was nothing but ash. The idea made her stomach flip with shame, her heart burn with a betrayal yet to happen, but felt no less. Lucas's fingers slipped from her back to her wrist, his hand closing over it, trapping it tenderly - his touch an anchor that anchored her but also sparked her nerves. He said: "We're in this together now," his voice softer but no less fierce, his eyes holding her with a fierceness that made her chest tighten. "Lies we told, there's gotta be one, Mia." At least for tonight. Keep him away from you." His thumb skimmed her pulse point, a passing touch that sent a shiver through her, and she hated herself for the reaction of her body, for the way his touch provoked a craving she'd long forgotten. She treated herself, she thought, her throat tight, her mind a jumble of fear and desire. The lie - We're together - was a thin, delicate string but it had woven in and tied them to each other in a way that felt both safe and dangerous. The fortress was Lucas's protection, but nearness made her vulnerable, eyes lingering on her that made her feel exposed, only the fortress was the only thing Lucas seemed to see in her. She wanted to crawl on him, to let him heat away Jace's shadow, but the memory of that dark gaze, that velvet rumble, clung to her like a second skin, echoing with temptations she didn't want to hear. The bar was a writhing mass of bodies, grinding as the music played and laughter and shouts mingling with the noise of glasses clinking. Mia's eyes glanced to the crowd half expecting to see Jace's silhouette cut through the haze, his grin taunting her from the shadows. But he was absent, or so she told herself, but she could feel the weight of his stare, a ghostly touch that left her skin crawling. She allowed Lucas to lead her to a more secluded corner, not removing her hand from him; his hand steady, familiar and comforting, yet unsettling. Let's get out of here soon, he rumbled low, a plea. It's not you, Mia, but then, was it? She didn't know anymore. The bar's pulse throbbed in her, a reminder that she was alive, that she was here, at the edge of something out of her control. There was something about Jace, something he stirred within her that was locked away - a reckless curiosity, that both terrified her and thrilled her. And stoking something deeper, too, something that made her heart ache with a jumble of gratitude and fear: Lucas, his fierce protectiveness, and his lingering touches. He was always where she went, the only one she always trusted, her best friend who knew all her quirks, and he used to make her laugh until her sides hurt. But tonight, he was closer, and the tension that made her pulse race and jumbled her thoughts, and she didn't know what to say. How was she supposed to describe what was happening in her head, the way Jace's eyes made her feel like she was being hunted, being hunted and desired, the way that Lucas's fingers made her feel safe and scared at the same time? She looked at him, his hazel eyes steady but raw, and saw something in his eyes, something that wasn't just friendship, just protection. It was a desire that equaled her own, a silent question between them, no doubt peering with potential. He spoke with a rough voice, cut her off before she could say anything. Don't let him get into your head Mia. You're stronger than that." His fingers entwined with hers, thumb touching knuckles and it was tender and private, it stole her breath. "You're with me, okay? Even just for tonight, you're with me," she said, her voice a hitchy little voice; tears caught in the corners of her eyes, her heart a knot of guilt and longing. It was a defense, a thin wall between Jace's pull, but it was also a spark, igniting something between her and Lucas she wasn't ready to face. His words were a vow, a promise to keep her safe, but there was a weight to them as well, a promise that made her chest ache, a promise of a love she had been too afraid to risk seeing. She wanted to trust him, to let his heat scrape away the darkness of Jace's eyes, but the neon pulse of the bar seemed to taunt her, telling her she was already in a dangerous game. Mia's heart pounded as her eyes scanned the dance floor, imagining Jace there, dark and jagged against the turmoil, his eyes fixed on her with that maddening grin. But he was gone and his absence was a cold hole where her unease grew. The pressure of Lucas's hand under her shoulder, grounding her, did not drive away the shadows of Jace's promise, or the way it hovered like a bruise on her soul. "We'll get through this," Lucas said, voice thankfully strong and vulnerable enough to tear her apart. "Just... stay here, Mia," she asked, the words tight in her throat, fear and something she couldn't name pumping in her heart. The lie they'd woven was a brittle thing but it was everything they had, a shield against the danger that lurked in the darkness. Even without him, Jace was always there as a reminder of the chaos he'd brought into her life. And Lucas-and his warmth, and fierceness-was the salvation and the doom, guiding her to a truth she wasn't prepared to acknowledge. The bar's pulse pumped through her, a steady reminder of existence, of life's breath, of the web of lies and desire she was caught in, no sense of direction of where she would fall.
