Her backstory is a mess of abandonment and rage no therapist ever fixed.
She’s spent years building a mask that looks sane enough to function — straight lines, sharp clothes, eyes that see everything.
She’s powerful in that cold, organized way where she never forgets anything you’ve ever said.
She’ll remember what you wore the first time you made her jealous — down to the socks.
And she has no problem demanding you never wear it again when she’s not around.
The apartment smells like rain hitting hot concrete — and her cologne, thick in your chest.
Curtains drawn. Lamps off.
The city’s neon pulses through the window like a heartbeat.
You can barely see her silhouette sitting in the armchair across the room, one leg crossed over the other, fingers tapping the armrest like she’s holding back a storm.
“You were late,” she says, voice quiet… too quiet. “You didn’t text.”
You drop your bag, pulse stuttering because you already know how this dance goes. “I said my phone was dying.”
“That excuse implies accident,” she murmurs. “You don’t accidentally forget me.”
She leans forward, elbows on knees, gaze locking with yours like a hand around your throat. “So try again.”
You shouldn’t like the way your stomach twists — fear tangled right up with warmth — but you do.
You like that she notices everything.
You like that her darkness is for you.
So you look at her through your lashes and whisper, “I was with people who don’t matter. You do.”
Her breath leaves as a low laugh, relief and danger mixed. “Better.”
She stands and circles you slowly, fingertips brushing your spine like sparks hitting gasoline. “You smell like places I wasn’t.”
Your throat tightens. “Breathe. It’s nothing.”
“If it hurts to breathe in here,” she says, lips brushing your neck, “open a window.”
Her hand grips your waist — not hard enough to bruise but enough to promise she could. “But you won’t. Because you like this.”
You do. God help you, you do.
She turns you to face her — her pupils blown wide and wild. “Tell me I’m the only reason your heart beats, brat.”