CHAPTER THREE

The club was loud, pulsing with lights and heat. Music throbbed through the floor, through her bones. Drinks kept appearing in her hand. One turned into two. Two into something warmer, heavier.

For the first time in months, Elara laughed without thinking about hospital bills. And while being a little tipsy she decided to live a little just for tonight. She moved to the dance floor and moved her body, whining her waist back forth with her friend Tessa. They danced till they were exhausted and Elara offered to bring more drinks.

And then she saw him.

Adrian POV.

Adrian called her again. Voicemail.

He stared at his phone, jaw tight. Called once more. Let it ring longer this time, as if persistence could force her to answer. Nothing. A minute later, his screen lit up.

Seraphina: Stop calling me like you suddenly remember I exist. You had six years to listen. I’m not picking up now because your ego is uncomfortable. If you need control, find it somewhere else.

He read it twice. Then a third time. The calm he wore like a tailored suit split open. So this was how she wanted to play it. Fine.

If she thought he was calling because he couldn’t stand being alone, he would prove her wrong. He didn’t chase. He didn’t beg. And he certainly didn’t wait around for someone who chose silence.

His body felt restless. Tight. His thoughts louder than usual. Pride burned hotter than sense.

He grabbed his jacket and keys without overthinking it. The club was loud enough to drown everything. Lights flashed in reckless patterns, music heavy and intoxicating. Adrian didn’t usually come to places like this without purpose. Tonight, he wanted distraction. He ordered a drink. Then another.

The anger softened into something else something sharper, more physical. His hormones buzzed under his skin, fueled by frustration and wounded pride. And then he saw her On the dance floor. A girl with long dark hair swaying down her back. Slim waist. Confident hips. She was whining to the rhythm, laughing freely, unaware of the eyes on her. For a split second, his breath stalled. The resemblance wasn’t perfect. But in the flashing lights dark hair, familiar posture, the tilt of her chin she looked too much like Seraphina. It hit him low in the stomach. Desire tangled with memory. The girl turned slightly, and the curve of her smile under neon light did something dangerous to his restraint. He shouldn’t have been turned on. But he was. Not because of her. Because of what she reminded him of.

He took another slow sip of his drink, eyes never leaving the dance floor. Pride whispered that he didn’t need Seraphina. That he could replace silence with noise. Longing with heat. The girl’s eyes met his. She didn’t look away. And for the first time all week, Adrian felt wanted without effort.

Their eyes met. The world tilted. He walked toward her slowly. Not surprised. Not flustered.

“You drink?” he asked evenly.

“Apparently,” she replied, smiling wider than she meant to.

There was something reckless in the air between them. Something unspoken. The music, the alcohol, the week of silence he hadn’t admitted was hollow.

“You don’t seem like the club type,” she said.

“Neither do you.”

She laughed again. He watched the way her face softened when she forgot to guard it. And then he told the bartender to give them something strong. And somewhere between the music and the weight of things unsaid, restraint slipped.

Elara POV

The music pulsed around them, low and hypnotic, lights washing the room in gold and indigo. The air was thick perfume, heat, bodies moving without restraint. But the space between them felt charged in a way the rest of the room wasn’t.

Elara tilted her head slightly, a slow smile playing on her lips. “Maybe I needed to be someone else for a night.” His eyes darkened at that. The bass vibrated through the floor, through her heels, up her spine. She felt bold in a way she never allowed herself to be alcohol warming her bloodstream, exhaustion loosening her careful control.

Close enough for her to notice the faint scent of cedar and something deeper clean, masculine, grounding. Close enough to see the restraint flicker in his expression. Close enough to feel the tension neither of them wanted to name.

She meant to step back.

Instead, she looked at his mouth.

It happened slowly. Deliberately. Like a decision neither of them fully made but didn’t stop.

His hand came up hesitant at first brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. His fingers lingered just a second too long against her skin.

Her breath caught.

“Adrian…” she whispered, but it wasn’t a warning.

Lightning flashed faintly through the tinted club windows, and in that brief illumination, he leaned in.

The kiss wasn’t rushed.

It was warm.

Testing.

His lips brushed hers once soft, almost questioning. And when she didn’t pull away, when her fingers curled instinctively into the front of his shirt, something inside him snapped loose.

The second kiss was deeper.

Hungry in a restrained way. Controlled until it wasn’t.

The noise of the club blurred. The world narrowed to warmth and breath and the way her heart pounded wildly against her ribs. His hand slid to her waist, steadying her, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them.

She tasted like sweet liquor and something dangerously innocent.

Her mind screamed stop.

Her body didn’t listen.

When they broke apart, both of them were breathing harder than the music required.

“This is a bad idea,” she murmured, though her hands were still gripping him.

“Yes,” he agreed.

Neither moved away.

He didn’t drag her. He didn’t rush her.

He simply took her hand.