The Devil You Burn For.

me flicks her dark braid over her shoulder like she's just dropped some academic truth bomb. Her voice is

forward like she's braci

hen they fall for each other, it's epic. Dramatic. There's betrayal and angst and usually some emotional groveling at the end." She grins, angling her body closer so their shoulders press together, her v

I didn't need in my life," her friend mut

lsing bass of music pours out like a wave, thumping through my ribcage and vibrati

, anyway? Months? Years? It feels like another lifetime. I stopped going out at night, period. Easier th

der that carefully controlled tone, I caved. She said she didn't want to go alone. Said it

s. That version of me was bright-eyed. Naïve. Stupidly optimistic about the future. Then everything

. Not her

urself will undo it. All you have is the present. This moment. This night. Just breathe. Stay in control. Don't let the nee

ith feline grace, the kind of car that says, "Don't ask me what I cost unless you can afford it

ke sin itself. His black suit jacket clings to wide, sculpted shoulders, and underneath it, a matching black shir

flick of his fingers. Tattoos curl out from beneath his collar, vivid colors trailing up his neck like rebellious vines

kable "touch me and die" aura radiating off him in waves. Maybe a cop? No. No way. T

who takes orders. He moves

oman steps out, tall, elegant, with dark hair and th

Mr. Intimidation himself slides smoothly into my

king at the sky. When I finally meet his gaze, I almost recoil. Golden-brown eyes, flec

rom his eyebrow toward his temple, like an inverted comma written in flesh. It doesn't mar his lo

urvival. Markers of dominance. Evolutionary gold stars that s

t the hell a

His suit protests. He scowls, and I swear it takes years off my life. The look he gives me

beefed-up Keanu Reeves, with a dash of Henry Cavill'

i

him don't belong in nightclubs. They belong on screens or pages, alphahole antiheroes with a secret soft spot that only

folding my arms to mirror him,

evening," Theresa interjects, arriv

an eyebrow. "You ha

r. "The Slohovics insisted. Said it wa

d of the local mafia. As in, the fam

n again. Of course they'd assign h

ismissing a waiter with the wrong order. "Why don't you go do...

s like he's about to file a restraini

tly. "You know, you might benefit from joining us. Loos

, heavy with unspoken tension. If this were a movie, this would be the part where the ene

entirely sure I'd b