Kavy's breath came in ragged gasps as she leaned against the wall, her body still trembling from the fire burning beneath her skin. She could feel it now—the change. The pull. The terrifying loss of control.
Dante stood a few feet away, watching her with those piercing, unreadable eyes. He had stopped pushing, stopped taunting. And somehow, that was worse.
"Why are you just standing there?" she snapped, her voice raw. "Aren't you going to force me to submit? Isn't that what you do?"
Dante tilted his head slightly. "I don't need to force you, Kavy. You're already mine."
The words sent a shiver down her spine, not because they were untrue, but because deep down, she feared he was right.
"You don't own me," she whispered, but there was no conviction in her voice.
Dante stepped closer. Not looming. Not aggressive. Just… present.
"Then walk away," he challenged. "If you can."
Kavy's entire body tensed. She wanted to. Every logical part of her screamed to turn, to run, to fight until she had nothing left.
But her feet didn't move.
Because the truth was a bitter, undeniable thing.
She didn't want to run anymore.
She hated him for what he had done to her, for the way he had shattered her world. But she couldn't deny the bond between them, the heat in her blood, the pull that made her feel like she belonged nowhere else but right here.
Dante must have seen it in her eyes because his lips curved slightly, but there was no arrogance in it this time. Just certainty.
"You feel it," he said quietly.
Kavy clenched her fists. "That doesn't mean I want it."
"Desire isn't always a choice."
She hated that he was right.
She hated that her body was betraying her.
And she hated that, despite everything—
She wanted him too.