Elena stood by the window long after Luca left, her arms wrapped around herself as the cold evening breeze slipped through the cracks. The city below looked peaceful, the distant hum of life carrying on as though nothing had changed. But for her, the air felt suffocating. Luca’s urgency, his unspoken fears, clung to her like a shadow.
Her fingertips brushed her lips, still tingling from their stolen kiss. It had been reckless, wild, and everything she shouldn’t want—but couldn’t resist. A part of her craved the fire in his touch, but the other part screamed at her to leave before she got burned.
The quiet was short-lived. The door to the room swung open, slamming against the wall with a sharp bang. Elena spun around, her heart racing. It wasn’t Luca.
Instead, a tall, wiry man with
