Ch. 10: Close Enough to Burn

It started with a stupid movie.

Some random action flick on Netflix, background noise while they lounged on the bed—Kael leaning against the headboard, Riven lying on his stomach beside him. Their legs brushed once, then twice. Neither of them moved.

Kael was hyper-aware of every breath Riven took.

It was hot. Not just room-temperature hot—stupidly hot. Summer storm brewing outside, fan doing jack shit to cool the place down. Kael's shirt clung to his back with sweat, his pulse too damn loud in his ears.

"This movie sucks," Riven said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Kael replied, but he didn't look at the screen.

He was looking at Riven.

At the way his hair stuck to his forehead. The slight curve of his smirk. The little scar on his bottom lip from some fight he wouldn't talk about.

Kael's chest felt tight.

Fuck it.

He reached out and pulled Riven's shirt down slightly, exposing more of his shoulder. "You're sweating like hell."

Riven arched an eyebrow. "So are you."

"Should we open a window or something?" Kael asked, voice a little too shaky.

Riven didn't answer.

Instead, he sat up—closer than before. Knees bumping.

"I think you've been looking at me more than the movie," he said, low.

Kael's heart stopped. "What if I have?"

Riven leaned in. "Then maybe it's about time we stopped pretending like we don't feel this shit."

Their lips collided like heat lighting—sudden, sharp, burning.

Kael's hands tangled in Riven's shirt, yanking him closer, mouth moving with a hunger he didn't know he had. Riven grabbed his jaw with one hand, the other fisting the sheets beside him, like if he let go, he'd drown in it.

It wasn't soft.

It was wild.

Pent-up tension and months of unsaid things crashing in one breathless moment.

Kael gasped when Riven's teeth grazed his neck. "Shit—Riven…"

"You started this," Riven growled against his skin. "You looked at me like that."

Kael pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. "And you didn't stop me."

Riven smirked, dangerous and dark. "Because I wanted this."

They kissed again—slower this time, deeper. Kael felt like he was unraveling, every nerve ending on fire.

The movie kept playing in the background, long forgotten.

The storm outside finally broke—rain pounding the windows, thunder rumbling like it had been waiting for them to explode.

When they finally stopped, breathing hard, foreheads pressed together, Kael whispered, "What the hell are we doing?"

Riven looked at him—really looked—and said, "Whatever the fuck this is... I don't want it to stop."

Kael nodded, chest heaving. "Then don't."