The air between them still crackled with tension—sharp and volatile like the first strike of lightning before a storm. But beneath the anger and the betrayal, something deeper was stirring: a fire neither wanted to admit had ever truly died.
Cassian's gaze softened for a flicker, caught in the raw vulnerability flashing behind Riven's dark eyes. The man before him was no longer just a rival or a captive; he was the one who'd broken down walls and rebuilt them from flame and desire.
Their hands brushed—tentative, searching—until Cassian's fingers curled possessively around Riven's wrist, pulling him close.
"No more lies," Cassian murmured, his voice low, fierce. "Not if you want me."
Riven's breath hitched, the old hunger roaring back with a vengeance. He leaned into Cassian's touch, the heat spreading like wildfire across his skin.
"I want you," Riven whispered, voice raw. "All of you."
Clothes fell away like fragile barriers, skin to skin, heat to heat. Every touch, every kiss stoked the embers into roaring flames as they moved together—fierce, desperate, and utterly consuming.
The world outside faded until only they existed, wrapped in the fire they'd both feared and craved. Every gasp, every whispered name was a promise—of reckoning, of surrender, of a bond rekindled stronger than before.
When they finally collapsed, tangled and breathless, the fire still burned bright between them—unquenchable, undeniable.