Lyra's fingers tightened around the edge of the stone balcony. Her breath caught due to the pull rather than the wind.
Kael stood below, shirtless, chest rising in slow defiance of the night. Moonlight kissed the sharp cut of his jaw, silver lining the beast in him.
"You watching me again?" he said without looking up.
"You're the one who always ends up under my window," she murmured.
Kael glanced up now, heat behind those predator eyes. "Maybe I like the view."
Her pulse betrayed her, skipping like it knew something she didn't. "You don't know what you're getting into."
"I've had a taste," he said, voice rougher than gravel and silk.
Lyra narrowed her eyes, fingers now white against the stone. "That wasn't a taste."
Kael was at the top of the stairs before she even blinked.
"You're right." He stopped a breath from her. "It was a warning."
His hand brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, then curled around her jaw like he owned it.
"I told myself I'd stay away."
She tilted her head. "And yet…"
"I burned." His thumb traced her lower lip. "Every night. Every damn time I closed my eyes."
Her heart thrummed louder than war drums. "So why come back?"
Kael's lips hovered near her ear. "Because I'd rather fall apart beside you than survive without you."
The wind swirled between them and then she grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside.
The door slammed shut behind them.
They didn't need words.
Just skin.
And hunger.