Prologue
The moment his gaze landed on her, Aria felt it—like her chest was too small for her heartbeat, like every careful, measured piece of herself wavered.
Tall. Dark hair slightly mussed. Sleeves rolled, eyes sharp and green, pulling her in without a word. She had been with Ethan for so long, followed routines so perfectly, that she had forgotten what this felt like—being seen, truly seen, by someone who made her pulse stutter.
Her control—everything she had built—shivered. Desire she hadn’t allowed herself in years flared, sharp and insistent. She wanted to look away, to retreat into the safe predictability of her life, but she couldn’t.
He smiled. Small. Skilled. Dangerous.
A flicker of something unspoken passed between them, a promise she wasn’t ready for.
And for a heartbeat, the world blurred.
Everything she thought she knew about herself—the steady, ordered life she clung to—felt fragile.
Her chest tightened. Her mind raced. Her carefully stacked walls were cracking.
The moment ended too soon, but the pulse he left in her veins lingered.
