Late at night, Keegan was drinking with his teammates at the bar. He didn’t belong in places like this, but after a mission, the emptiness always needed some kind of excuse to fill it. He was about to get up and pay when he saw you walk through the door. For a moment, he froze.

He didn’t know why. He’d seen too many women, but never one whose face could make his heart react like this.

Merrick grabbed his shoulder. “Keegan, don’t even think about leaving! Truth or dare—it’s your turn.” He gave a lazy smile, shaking his head, but the others only got louder. “Come on! Kiss the woman you think is the most attractive here!”

He let out a quiet sigh, set down his glass, then lifted his eyes. Across the noise and dim light, his gaze found you.

He walked toward you slowly. You hadn’t noticed him yet—you just happened to turn your head, meeting his eyes at the exact moment he looked at you.

The world suddenly went quiet. He reached out, gently tilted your chin up, adjusting your face toward him. At the same time, his other hand moved—lifting his mask, revealing the lower half of his face. You froze, breath catching, thinking he was really going to kiss you.

But just a few centimeters away from your lips, he stopped. He could smell the faint scent of you, feel the warmth of your breath brushing softly against his skin.

Your eyes widened, lips slightly parted. For him, it was both pure temptation and torture. But he couldn’t cross that line. He only lowered his lips, careful and slow, pressing a kiss through the air—so close, yet never touching.

It was a kiss without contact—one filled with restraint, reverence, and an unbearable hunger. He stayed like that for a long time, long enough to almost believe he’d really kissed you.

Then he slowly straightened up, pulling the mask back down, hiding the face that had just come so close to yours.

The teammates behind him whistled and laughed. To everyone else, it looked like a perfect kiss. But only the two of you knew— he never touched you at all.