I fell from the sky, like a star stripped of its light. The wind whipped past me, a scream trapped in my throat, as the ground rushed up to claim me. And then, I was caught.
Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a darkness that smelled like rain and leather. I fought, nails scraping against fabric, as he held me tight. His breath was cold on my ear, his voice a low growl.
"You're not going anywhere."
I stilled. The world narrowed to the beat of his heart against mine. His eyes—god, his eyes. Like the night itself had taken form, dark and endless. They drew me in, made me forget the fall, the pain, the emptiness.
When he finally let me go, I stumbled. He reached out, and I flashed back to the night that broke me. The alley. The shadows. The hands that took what wasn't theirs.
I pushed him away, hard. "Don't touch me."
He let me go, eyes glinting with something like curiosity. Like he knew the darkness in me, and it intrigued him.
He was the kind of man who'd burn the world for a taste of the night. And I was already lost in it.
This is how it started. The fall. The crash. The obsession.