Elijah sat on the edge of Dominic's bed, still feeling the heat of their last encounter burning on his skin. The room was dimly lit, the scent of expensive cologne and something undeniably Dominic filling the air.
He should leave.
He wanted to leave.
But his body refused to move.
Dominic stood by the window, his broad shoulders tense as he lit a cigarette. The glow of the ember cast sharp shadows across his face, making him look even more dangerous than usual.
"Elijah."
His name rolled off Dominic's tongue like a warning, like a tether pulling him back in.
Elijah sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What now? You gonna lecture me again?"
Dominic exhaled a slow stream of smoke, his gaze locked onto Elijah's. "You keep playing games with me, but I don't think you understand the rules."
Elijah smirked, crossing his arms. "And what rules are those?"
Dominic took a step closer, then another, until he was standing right in front of him. The air between them crackled with tension, thick and suffocating.
"You don't tease a man like me," Dominic said, his voice dangerously soft. "You don't walk into my life, turn everything upside down, and expect to walk away untouched."
Elijah swallowed hard, but he refused to look away. "Sounds like a you problem."
Dominic's lips twitched. "You're getting too comfortable."
Elijah leaned back on his palms, feigning ease despite the way his heart pounded. "And whose fault is that? You're the one who keeps dragging me back."
Dominic's fingers brushed against Elijah's jaw, tilting his face up. The touch was gentle, almost affectionate—completely at odds with the raw intensity in his eyes.
"You're not afraid of me, are you?"
Elijah's breath hitched.
He should be. He knew he should be.
But instead, he found himself leaning into Dominic's touch, his pulse racing for an entirely different reason.
Dominic's thumb traced slow circles against his skin. "You make me crazy, Eli."
The nickname again.
Elijah's stomach twisted in ways he didn't want to acknowledge.
"I think you were crazy long before I showed up," he murmured.
Dominic chuckled, low and rough. "Maybe." His fingers slid down to Elijah's throat, not in a threatening way, but in a way that sent a shiver through him. "But you've only made it worse."
Elijah's breath came unevenly, and for the first time, he felt like he was standing on the edge of something dangerous.
Something he wasn't sure he could pull away from.
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