The air between them thickened, weighted with a slow-burning tension that made even the faintest movements feel amplified. Victor didn't pull back; if anything, he leaned in further, the bridge of his nose grazing the line of Elias's jaw as he inhaled again, deeper this time, like he could commit every thread of Elias's scent to memory and then burn it into his bones.
Elias let his head tip back against the couch cushions, just enough to catch the faint gleam in those crimson eyes. "You're doing it again," he murmured.
Victor's mouth curved faintly against his skin. "Doing what?"
"That thing where you pretend you're in control of yourself."
The low chuckle that followed was more vibration than sound, resonating where Victor's chest brushed his. "Who says I'm pretending?" His hand slid higher along Elias's ribs, fingertips skimming the edge of his shirt as though testing just how far politeness could be stretched before it snapped.
