The bullet lay between them like a silent accusation.
Selene did not move. Couldn't. The note folded in her trembling fingers, and the ink blurred a little from the moisture on her skin. "He's lying." Two words. So simple. So lethal.
Across the room, Darius stood still, his jaw was locked, his eyes were unmatched. The silence stretched long and tight, filled with a kind of tension that could explode into violence - or something more intimate.
" Are you going to say something?" Selene asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Not because she was scared, but because she didn't know what the hell she would do if he confirmed it.
Darius's eyes didn't hesitate . "I don't lie to you."
A humorless laugh broke from her throat. "You also said you didn't work for Lazarus anymore."
He stepped forward, slow and measured. "I don't."
She held up the note like it was a knife. "Then what is this? A joke? Another warning from some ghost in your closet?"
"I don't know who sent it," he said. "But if someone is trying to separate us, it's working."
Selene's pulse hammered in her ears. She hated the way her body still ached for his touch - despite the fear knotting in her chest. Despite the way that one goddamn bullet made her question everything.
She walked to the kitchen counter and set the note down beside the bullet. Her fingers lingered there, touching the brass like she could absorb truth through her skin. "Do you have enemies, Darius?"
He gave a dry, bitter laugh. "You already know I do."
"But are you sleeping with any of them?" Her eyes shot back to him like a dagger. "Are you screwing me while reporting to Lazarus?"
His nostrils flared. "No."
"Then prove it."
The words left her before she even knew she'd spoken them. But once they were out, there was no taking them back.
Darius's eyes darkened. "How?"
Selene's response was a slow, calculated step ahead. "If you want me to believe you, then show me that there is nothing between us that is fake. No agenda. No manipulation. Just you. And me."
Her words were a challenge. A dare.
And he took it.
In two steps, he closed the distance between them. His lips met hers with an aggressive kiss that made her stumble back into the marble counter. His kiss was rough, angry - but not on her. At the implication. At the fear. At the edge they'd been walking since night one.
Selene grabbed his shirt and lifted it up, revealing his stomach's tense lines.. Her hands explored him like she was searching for secrets under his skin. Darius moans into her mouth, one hand gripped in her hair, the other sliding under the slit of her silk robe, taking it off her shoulder.
They only broke apart for a long time to breathe, and stared at each other, like the next move will determine everything.
Then Selene led him to the living room, her robe dropped down her arms as she followed. It fell to the floor in a pool of red silk, an echo that matched the bloodstain she had just washed off her coat an hour before.
He caught her hips, pulling her in. "You want the truth?" he said against her mouth. "You're the only damn thing that feels real."
She didn't reply. Just bit his lower lip hard enough to make him moan and push her backward onto the velvet couch.
He followed.
His mouth moved down to her collarbone, biting and kissing, marking her skin in ways that felt both like a punishment and worship. Selene curved into him, her thighs parting, inviting and Needing him.
He dragged his palm up the inside of her leg, and when his fingers found her, he moaned under his breath. "Fuck, you're so wet for me."
"Less talking," she rasped. "More proving."
He didn't hesitate.
Her head dipped between her thighs, tongue traced, pressing, devouring her until her body curved like a drawn bowstring. Her fingers dug into the cushions, back arching as heat curled tight and electric in her spine. Every touch, every moan, stripped her down to the most primal version of herself.
She came hard, shaking, with his name a broken cry on her lips.
Darius kissed his way back up her body, lips wet with her. "Now you."
She did not allow him complete the sentence.
Selene rolled him on his back and rolled over him, unzipping his pants with shaking fingers. He was hard, hot, ready, and she didn't wait, she didn't ask, her body lowered onto his with a moan that left her breathless.
They moved together in a rhythm that felt like war, furious and passionate like they were trying to fuck the mistrust out of each other. She buried her hands in his chest while he held her hips, guiding and controlling her.
It was filthy. It was frantic.
And it was exactly what they both needed.
"Say it," he growled, thrusting up into her.
"I hate you," she gasped riding him harder.
"Liar."
She collapsed onto his chest, biting down on his shoulder as he thrust up into her again and again. "I hate how good this feels."
"Then you are gonna hate what comes next."
Her orgasm crashed into her like a wildfire, and ripped the words from her mouth. Darius came after, barely a breath apart, His body stiffened, releasing a deep, raw growl that sent shivers down her spine.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was their breathing.
Then the room snapped back into focus. The bullet. The note. The questions.
Selene rolled off him, chest heaving. "Now tell me everything."
Darius ran a hand through his hair, still catching his breath. "I never went back to Lazarus. But he's not finished with me."
Her blood chilled. "What does that mean?"
"He thinks he owns me. And he thinks the only reason I left was because of you."
Selene sat up. "He's targeting me?"
"He's trying to break us apart." Darius met her gaze. "And it's working."
She stood, grabbed her robe and paced around. "Then we go to him first. End it."
Darius shook his head. " It's not that simple."
She turned back to him. "He sent me a bullet with a note calling you a liar. I'd say it's pretty fucking simple now."
Before he could answer, her burner phone vibrated again.
She snatched it up, and her stomach dropped at the message:
He's not who you think he is, check the envelope under the mattress.
Selene's hands trembled as she walked to the bed. She didn't ask questions - just reached under the mattress.
An envelope was taped to the frame.
She ripped it open and froze.
Inside were surveillance photos. Darius, with Lazarus. Smiling. Shaking hands. A wad of cash passing between them.
The last photo?
Darius standing over a man's dead body.
The date on the photo was from last week.
Selene turned slowly.
Darius hadn't moved. But his eyes were sharp now. Calculating.
Her voice came out low. "What the fuck is this?"
He looked at the photos. Then at her.
"That's not what it looks like."
The air thinned.
"Really?" she whispered.
He took one step forward.
She took one back.
Then her gun was in her hand, raised, aimed at his chest.
"Don't move," she said.
Darius froze. "Selene, I can explain."
"You better," she breathed. "Or I swear to God, I will shoot ."
Behind them, the window shattered.
A bullet slammed into the wall just inches away from Selene's head.
She dropped to the floor. Darius tackled her before the second shot fired.
But it wasn't the bullet that scared her.
It was what she saw on the floor as they landed—
Another envelope.
This one with her name on it.
She reached for it with shaking fingers, opened it,
And gasped.
Inside was a photo of her, naked and asleep in bed,
With Darius watching from the shadows.