DarkInkAnnie
The ring is smaller than I imagined. Dim lights, the scent of sweat and leather thick in the air, the crowd a muted roar around us. And then there's him.
Kai.
Standing just inside the ropes, muscles taut, eyes sharp, every line of him danger incarnate. My chest tightens before he even moves.
"You shouldn't be here," he growls, voice low, like a warning-and a challenge all at once.
"I... I just-" I try to speak, but the words die when his hand lands on my waist. Firm. Claiming.
The ropes press against my back, my fingers tremble as they find his chest. Solid. Unyielding. The pulse beneath my palm is steady, like a drumbeat keeping time with the fight raging just feet away.
"I could throw you out," he murmurs, a dangerous smirk tugging at his lips. "But I don't want to."
My heart hammers. Every swing, every punch in the ring echoes like a drum in my chest, matching the wild rhythm of desire and fear racing through me.
He leans closer, heat brushing my ear. "You think you're in control. You're not. Not here. Not in my world."
I shiver. The leather of the gloves, the scent of blood, the grit of the ring-it's his world, and I'm already caught. Already tethered. Already craving him, even though I know I shouldn't.
One move. One heartbeat. And the line between danger and desire dissolves entirely.
I DO NOT OWN RIGHTS TO THE PICTURES USED IN THE CHARACTER AESTHETIC AND THE COVER.