ログイン“Can I tell you a secret?” he asks, voice so soft it nearly disappears into the hiss of the rain. I nod, not trusting myself to speak. “I don’t want to run anymore,” he says. “I want to be somewhere, with someone, and not feel like I’m always one step away from losing everything.” It’s too much,
We sit like that for a long time, hands a breath apart, the space between us humming with everything we’re not saying. The dessert menu appears at some point, but we don’t even open it. I want to touch him, to see if the world will come back into focus when our skin finally meets. But I hold back,
Lucas drops his voice to a near-whisper. “You ever wish you could go back and do it differently?” I want to say no, that regret is for the weak, but the lie would be too obvious. “Sometimes,” I say, rolling the word on my tongue. “Mostly I wish I could go back and tell myself not to care so much wh
Lucas draws a small circle on the tablecloth with the base of his glass. “You know, I used to think I had you figured out.” I cock an eyebrow. “And now?” He tilts the glass, watching the red pool at the bottom. “Now I think I’m just getting started.” I want to tell him he’s not wrong, that no one
The waitress arrives—young, with sharp features and a way of standing that reminds me of field mice on alert. She recites the specials in a monotone, but Lucas pays close attention, even as his eyes drift back to me at the end of each sentence. I order something off-menu, just to see if she’ll flinc
The following night, the rain starts in earnest on the walk over, turning the city into a blur of white noise and hissing tires, every window a dim halo behind its own curtain of water. The bistro is unmarked except for a brass plaque by the door, already beaded with droplets, the letters almost ill
The lock clicks behind me as I slip into the office. I am the wolf, even in tailored business attire. Even with it all wrapped up so tight. The edge of my existence cuts deep. The aftertaste of the night clings to my senses, a raw, metallic tang that I cannot swallow away. My steps falter, then re
There is a freedom in it, a temptation that digs claws deep into my resolve and leaves it ragged and bleeding. I have spent a lifetime restraining the urge, tightening the leash until it bites into my own flesh. But the promise of release is a seductive whisper, its breath warm against my neck, its
I gather the pieces of myself and leave the office. My own intentions are as fractured as his. I cannot think straight with the scent of him so fresh, so insistent, so much like a promise. The door swings shut behind me, cutting off the warmth and memory of Derek's presence with surgical precision
I stiffen, a snarl forming at the back of my throat, before I manage to smooth it into something more civil, more human. This is not what I expected, not what I am prepared for. I should have known. I should have known he'd come. "Mara," his voice drawls, easy and confident, but I hear the challeng







