MasukNINA'S POV The girl staring back at me in the mirror looks like she’s grieving something she was never supposed to have, and I curse under my breath.My throat feels sore, and the taste of metal rests on my tongue. I unzip my purse with numb fingers and pop a breath mint.My phone screen flickers on, and I realise that we still have five hours left. Did I just cry for a whole hour over a married man? I really need to get it together. I went from avoiding him, to hating him, to being obsessed with his scent and the way he looks at me.Pathetic is the word you're probably thinking of…yeah.I brush back my hair until the bun looks slick, and my makeup sits on my face, shielding the world from my misery. Shielding him.I have done my research on toxic relationships, and it doesn't take a genius to know exactly what is happening here. He's not mine, and he never will be. There's no use pretending this will go anywhere, but I fear I might have cursed myself, for every moment spent away f
NINA'S POV I used to think fear made you run, now I realise that sometimes, it makes you walk straight into the fire.My feet halt beside the empty seat, heart pounding in my ears. My jaw moves on its own, and I hear my voice,“Whatever you have to say, make it quick.” If my words annoy him, he does a good job at hiding it, and watches with a straight face as I sink into the seat and set my purse on the fold out table between us. Every nerve on my neck stands on end, and I tuck my fingers in my lap to hide their trembling.How wrong I was, to think that I could sit so close to him and not catch on fire. And what a silent fire he is, watching me with grey eyes that trail up my skin and rest on my face.“Spit it out, Cross.” My voice sighs.“Just sit there and be quiet. I'm trying to decide what to do with you.” He leans back like he already knows the outcome of this conversation.“Is the world ending? Mr Cross is out of ideas. Or…have you finally lost control?” I fold my hands acros
NINA'S POV Waiting for Cassian feels a lot like waiting for a storm—you know it’s coming, you just don’t know how much it’s going to destroy.My boxes lean against the wall, untouched. I need to pack for this trip, but my mind won't stop racing.True to his words, Cassian Cross didn't even look at me for the rest of the night. Morning came, and I had a car waiting before I even put my robe on.He didn't say a word when I said goodbye, and when I walked past him, I heard him hold his breath — like he couldn't stand to breathe the same air as me. Too bad, because in the next four hours, we will be sharing a plane, and I'm pacing like an idiot when I should be packing.Shit. I haul a box to the middle of my room, cursing when the zip bursts free and my unfolded clothes spill out.I try to focus on the task at hand, but my body is still wrecked from the other night, and his stormy eyes haunt me with every blink.I should not have lied to him. He already knew. I should have run after h
NINA'S POV The way Cassian is looking at me tells me everything—he found something he was never meant to see. But what?“Why are you holding my phone, Cassian?” His eyes dropped to his hands, as if he's surprised he's even holding it, but I know this is an act. “I was just…curious.” He turns the phone over in his hands.“Can I uh…can I have my phone?” I hold out my hand, and I feel the burn of his eyes as they slither up to my face.I can't look at him. I can't look into those stormy grey eyes that once held so much passion, yet all I feel is the urge to face him, to take my phone back and shut the fuck down.“You want your phone back?” His voice is low, too low.I force a sigh, desperate to expel this weight in my ribs.“Cassian, I can't do this right now. Why the fuck did you check my phone?” “You want to check mine?” He cocks his head.“That's not what I asked you.”“It's not a ‘no’.” He sets the phone right by the sink, and I stumble forward to grab it.The screen lights up,
CASSIAN'S POV The wind hums softly through the dark, but I haven’t slept—not with Nina in my arms and too many things I’d rather not feel clawing their way to the surface.My gaze is fixed on the ceiling, at how a blink of an eye can blind one to the tiny crack in the wall.I count the rise and fall of Nina's naked chest, and I wonder how someone so delicate can hurt so much. She looked me in the eye and lied to me, then confessed like it was nothing. Did she do that so I could punish her?I don't know anymore. My mind is a collision of past and present, and when she moves against me, I'm reminded of every moment, every gasp, every clench of her walls around me—all while lying to my face. This hazel eyed demon with a sharp tongue and eyes that light up at my misery. If she could lie to me in a heartbeat, what else is she lying about? Try as hard as I could, she wouldn't tell me why she ran. And it fucking kills me that I had to stop before I broke her completely. Now her thigh i
CASSIAN'S POVShe’s shaking, but not as much as I am.If only she knows the violence it took to be this still, this gentle.I should let her go, by god, I should. Instead, I tighten my grip.“You can't keep me tied up here forever.” She tugs at the leather binding her wrists, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Let. Her. Go.Now.Her wetness drips from my fingers, and I want to taste her. I can't stop now. Not until she's a trembling, squirting mess, and I have the answers to quell this rage inside me.“Tell me why you ran from me, and I will set you free.” I gaze down at the way she chews her lower lip nervously, casting her gaze away from me so all that's left is her hair pooling over the pillows. Too much light. I walk towards the light switch and flick it off, letting darkness cloud the room…and her sight. I'm aching, every part of me, and she gets to lie there and hide things from me?My cock throbs in protest as I approach the bed again, chest swelling at the way her eyes sea
NINA'S POV Man cave round two. The first time, I nearly died of booze and panic. Now, I’m about to die of embarrassment and possibly regret.I came here thinking I could lie my way out. Big brain, Nina. Really big brain.Silence poisons the air as we walk down the corridor and I suck in sharp bre
NINA'S POV It’s strange how weddings still go on, even after someone might have died.I don't want to be here. Every nerve in my body screams to run, but I stand still.The sweet smell of flowers makes me sick to my stomach, but I'm too empty to throw up.It's Cassian's wedding day. I can't make t
CASSIAN'S POV My grip tightens on her office door as I scan the purple space.No coffee mug at the table. No scent of vanilla in the air.She's late. Good. I would have hated for her to question my tardiness…or worry about me.So I shut her door and head into my office. Maybe I can get some slee
CASSIAN'S POV “Talk. Now. Who did this to you?” Something’s wrong, and I can feel it in every pulse of her body—but the thought of someone else touching her makes my blood boil.She snatches her wrist from my grip and tugs down her sleeve, lips pursed.“It's uh…something I got a few days ago.” “







