Rain rolled endlessly across the sleeping city while distant thunder murmured low beyond the skyline like ancient warning carried through storm clouds, and somewhere beneath that cold midnight darkness Alexander De Luca stood motionless across the empty street long after Elara disappeared from sight beside Ethan Cole.
The world around him blurred quietly beneath rainwater sliding from dark hair and expensive black fabric, though none of it touched the dangerous stillness tightening slowly beneath his calm expression now.
Because all he could see—
Was Ethan's hand against her face.
Gentle.
Human.
Too familiar.
Alexander's jaw tightened faintly beneath the storm shadows while his fingers curled slowly at his sides with controlled precision, every instinct beneath his skin reacting violently against the memory replaying endlessly through his mind.
He touched her.
Not fearfully.
Not cautiously.
Like he belonged near her.
