Ruin Me Again – A raw, aggressive night of desire fuels the emotional spiral.
The rain hadn't stopped all night, casting the city in a cold, silver sheen. Inside the chamber, thunder echoed distantly—but the real storm was between them.
Riven stood at the window, shirt half-buttoned, jaw tight. His thoughts were a blur of Nyra's threats, Cassian's secrets, and the hunger he couldn't escape. Cassian was behind him, silent, like a shadow cast by regret and heat.
"You didn't tell me," Riven said, voice low. "About the blood pact. About her."
Cassian's response was a soft exhale, then his footsteps—measured and slow.
"I didn't want to give her power over us. She doesn't deserve that."
Riven turned, eyes burning. "But she has it. I saw it in your face when she mentioned Crimson House."
Cassian reached him in two strides. "What you saw was fear—for you. Not for her."
That was the spark. Their emotions collided, too fierce to be untangled by words. Cassian pushed him back against the wall, lips crashing into his in a bruising, breath-stealing kiss. It wasn't soft. It wasn't sweet. It was punishment, surrender, defiance—all at once.
Riven clawed at his shirt, tearing buttons loose, dragging him closer. "Then show me," he rasped. "Show me you're still mine. Ruin me again."
Their bodies met with violent urgency. Hands explored, claimed, demanded. Every kiss was edged with desperation, every movement a promise made in fire. There was no room for restraint—only the need to be devoured, to be reminded they still belonged to each other.
Their bed was a battlefield. Whispers turned to cries, touches to scratches, and love to raw survival. They didn't hold back. They didn't slow down.
By the end, they lay tangled in sheets and silence, marked by each other in every way that mattered. Riven's voice was a whisper in the dark.
"If you ever lie to me again, Cassian... I won't survive it."
Cassian kissed the back of his hand, reverently.
"I swear—on everything I am—you won't ever have to doubt me again."
And somewhere in the shadows, far beyond the warmth of the room, the Crimson Oath burned to life.