Sara walked toward the library with a paperback tucked under her arm, the sunlight through the trees making the pages glow. It was a stupid little thing she had to return a hassle, a note on the to-do list, but it gave her a reason to be out, to breathe, to think about anything but him. For once, she wanted plain.
Then suddenly, a hand pulled her from the side, and the world flipped.
She gasped, and the next heartbeat later found her pinned into the corner of a cold wall, his body a closed gate across the path. He had that ridiculous smirk, the one that never left his face even when he pretended not to care. Up close, the world narrowed to those green eyes, sharp, amused, dangerous. She was breathing too fast.
"What the fuck was that?" she growled.
"Oh," he said, mildly, like he was commenting on the weather. "This soda glass knows how to growl." The nickname was acid-sweet. It made her jaw tighten.
She shoved at his chest. His shoulders didn't budge. He watched her hands push him, and the smirk only grew.
"How pleasurable it would be," he said casually, leaning so close his breath skimmed her lips, "to listen to you begging for me, when I'm taking you rough, deep from front and back." His voice dropped low, meant to live inside her like a touch.
Her heart stuttered. She pushed him again, harder. He only watched the motion, amused.
"Tell me one thing," he said, voice soft now. "Why do you even want to win my heart, though? Say it once, tell me you want me without my heart. I promise I'll satisfy you until you get over me."
She looked at him, heat and defiance mixing. "Your fucking ass won't understand how I feel for you."
He chuckled, like he enjoyed smashing her words apart and tasting them. "Then why are you after my fucking ass?"
"Because," the way she shot back, that smirk was the only honest answer she could find. "I want your fucking ass along with your heart," she snapped.
Something in him paused. He stared at her, a slow, curious smile shifting the lines of his face. "Don't waste your time on me," he said finally, like crushing a fly. "You can't win my heart. Even if you could, you're not my type."
She smirked. "Don't go by my nerdy face. You don't know me."
He lolled his head, considering her as if he were deciding what flavor she might be.
"Then let me know you. Where should I start? From here?" He reached, careless, and traced her lower lip with his thumb.
"Or from here?" His fingers ghosted on her jeans between her legs, a suggestion more than contact.
She closed her eyes at that small sensation. It was too much and too little. She pushed his hand away, steadying herself against the wall because if she didn't, she'd cave. "Didn't I tell you that day? I'm not easy to win."
He tipped his chin at her like a challenge. "What if I make you?"
"Then try me," she said, voice flat.
She tried to move past him, but something in him changed, and he didn't let her. He hooked an arm across her waist, pulling her back, the motion rough and possessive. "Don't play with me."
"I'm not, you are," she shot back.
His tone sharpened. "Look. I don't like anyone turning me down."
She smiled, small and cruel. "Aww. Did that hurt your ego?"
His face grew intent and close, and the air between them hummed.
"Go fuck a new chick and satisfy your burning ass," she said, because throwing him off balance felt like breathing.
He pressed her harder to the wall until she was caged, no forward, no back, only the heat of him. "You know what I can do to you," he said low.
Her breath hitched, but she pushed against him again. "I do. But I also know you can't pursue me like you do with other girls. You might get into my pants, but it'll be by force. not with my consent. And that will be your loss. because you couldn't lure me into giving in." She hit the right spot again.
He let out a controlled breath, glaring at her. She was getting under his skin. But for some unknown reason, he liked that; it was new and bright and infuriating.
"You have anything to say, fuckboy?" she challenged, chin tilted.
He glared, no smirk now, just focus. She stepped in close and brushed her thumb along his lower lip so casually that it would have read as a flirt if someone else had seen. The gesture left a trail of chill over him.
"Why don't you try something better to win me?" she whispered, close enough that he felt the warmth of it.
He blinked, eyes narrowing. "Should I give you a better idea?" she pressed.
His gaze softened an inch like someone trying a new angle. She traced her fingertip over his lower lip again, and he closed his eyes for half a beat, which was all the confession she needed.
"Why don't you date me?" she breathed, words quiet and dangerous. "Maybe I might melt for you."
He opened his eyes like he'd been slapped. Sara pushed him once, a soft shove that sent him stumbling just enough to remind him she could still walk away. She didn't look back as she left; she shouldn't have. But she could feel him watching, every step like a weight. She smirked while walking ahead, knowing she had hit the right spot.
He stood there for a long second, stunned in the way men like him weren't used to being stunned. He shoved his hands into his pockets and laughed, but this laugh was hollower than usual. "What is she?" he muttered to himself. "Damn. I can't let her go that easily."
He tasted the thought like a dare. He was Kairo; girls fell for him. He never had to chase. But this soda glass was different: she didn't crumble at a look, she fought back, and god, she pushed him in a way that made the part of him that wanted to own everything twitch with a new kind of hunger.
I can't lose to this, he thought. I shouldn't be the one someone else wins. I'm Kairo. One glance and girls are on their knees. But she's… different. I should win her. I will make her mine. I should taste her, but not like the nameless ones. She's not what she looks.
That resolve flooded him with a dangerous light. He pulled the cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a lighter, processing whatever she said to him. he puffed and released a mouthful of smoke while his lips twitched into the dark with a grin that meant trouble and plans.