Alexis wasn't in love.
Let's get that clear.
It was just sex.
Hot, stupid, once-wasn't-enough sex.
But that didn't explain why she saw him in every silhouette.
Didn't explain why her heart beat faster whenever the air got too still.
Didn't explain why, three days later, she couldn't stop checking her phone for a message that would never come.
Kai didn't text.
Kai didn't ask.
Kai took.
And then disappeared like he never happened.
She liked that, didn't she?
That's what she told herself as she poured coffee into to-go cups for rude strangers at her part-time job.
The apron was too tight. Her hair was too frizzy. And she was still sore in all the wrong (right) places.
Snap out of it, Alexis.
"Double shot, no foam. And don't mess it up this time."
She blinked.
The guy in front of her wasn't Kai.
He was blond. Human. Loud.
And he smelled like cologne from a drugstore shelf.
Still, for half a second, she'd hoped.
That was pathetic.
She turned to grab the cup...
...and froze.
Across the street.
Leaning casually against a lamppost like he wasn't stalking her with his whole chest…
Kai.
Black coat. Black gloves. Unmoving.
He wasn't watching her.
He was waiting.
Her breath caught.
She handed off the coffee without looking, told the next customer "be right back," and slipped out the back door before she could think better of it.
She found him in the alley behind the café, between the dumpster and the fire escape, lit only by the low neon glow of a flickering bar sign.
"You're not subtle," she said.
Kai didn't move.
"You've been following me."
He stepped forward. One pace. Two. Then stopped again.
Close enough to make her forget the cold.
"I told myself I wouldn't," he said, voice too calm.
"But you left your scent."
Alexis raised a brow. "Excuse me?"
He tilted his head. "It's not a metaphor."
His eyes flickered red. Just once.
"Stop looking at me like that," she said.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm the one who came back for more."
Kai stepped closer again. His gloved hand slid around her waist, slow and possessive.
"I don't chase," he murmured.
She laughed, bitter. "No? Then why are you here?"
He didn't answer.
Because the truth was dangerous.
Because he didn't know how to stop.
They stared at each other too close, too much.
And when he kissed her again, it wasn't sweet.
It was angry. Hot. Messy. Like he was punishing her for getting under his skin.
She kissed him back like she was punishing him for existing.
When they finally pulled apart, panting, Alexis put a hand to his chest.
"We said this was nothing."
Kai nodded. "We did."
"And you don't do relationships."
"I don't."
"Then stop looking at me like you want one."
Silence.
Then...
"Stop making me want one."
She shoved him. Hard.
And walked away.
But she could still feel his gaze on her back like fire.
And when she got home, the window was open.
Even though she'd locked it.