Selene sat on the edge of the bed, staring out at the city skyline. The sun had fully risen now, casting golden light through the windows, but she felt anything but warm.
She had spent the night wrapped in Kieran's arms, lost in the storm of him.
And now, in the silence of the morning, reality settled over her like a heavy weight.
She had made a choice.
She had stayed.
And deep down, she knew there was no undoing what had happened between them.
The problem was, she didn't know what it meant.
A part of her still wanted to run, to pretend none of this had ever happened.
But the larger part of her—the part that still felt the ghost of Kieran's touch on her skin—knew that running was pointless.
Because no matter how far she went, he would always pull her back in.
—
Kieran leaned against the doorway, arms crossed as he watched her.
She was lost in thought, her expression guarded. But he could see the truth in the way her fingers curled against the sheets, the way she hadn't actually moved to leave.
He had given her space. Had let her sit with whatever war she was fighting inside.
But he wasn't going to let her run from this.
From them.
"You look like you regret it."
Selene turned sharply, eyes flashing. "I don't."
Kieran smirked. "Good." He pushed off the doorway, stepping closer. "Because I wouldn't let you."
Selene exhaled sharply. "You can't just decide things for me, Kieran."
He tilted his head, gaze burning into hers. "Can't I?"
She glared at him, but there was no real fight behind it.
And that only made his smirk deepen.
"You made a choice, Selene," he murmured, his voice lower now, rougher. "You stayed. You let me touch you. You let me have you." His fingers brushed against her wrist, sending shivers up her spine. "Tell me you regret it, and I'll let you go."
Selene's throat went dry.
She should say it.
She should lie.
But when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
Because she couldn't.
And Kieran knew it.
His eyes darkened, his fingers curling around her wrist, pulling her up to face him.
"You're mine, Selene," he murmured, his breath ghosting against her lips. "And I don't share."
Her heart slammed against her ribs, her pulse a wild rhythm.
She had always known Kieran was dangerous.
She just hadn't realized how dangerous he was to her.
Because for all the walls she had built, all the ways she had convinced herself she was in control—
She was already his.
And there was no escaping that now.