e led him past the crowd, through the velvet curtain into the private VIP area. T

te, designed for people who didn't wa

d toward a

s posture casual but tense. His jaw clenched slightly as he glan

trong?" the

look at her.

ft sil

f-lidded now, staring into the dim glow of the room. He was

shed into his mind, Isabella's ima

le of wine. She approached his booth with quiet steps, car

memory and the haze of the music. He barely registered he

d softly, offering the gl

enough to take the glass from her

uttered, voice

a slow sip of the wine, letting it settle on his tongue before swallowing. The flavor was ric

second, it pulled him out of his thoughts. He let out a quiet breath, leaning deeper into the booth's cushions, his fingers still curled

il in hand, legs crossed elegantly. She had been there long before Elio arrived, waiting because she kn

tall, commanding, tailored to perfection even when visibly tired. He walked like the world owed him space, and it gave way without questio

ight. She sipped slowly, lips barely touching the rim of her glass, eyes following every slight movement he ma

bsence, that was the look

as trying to forget and that

e murmured and

lways her. Always the soft-spoken, graceful girl who floated through rooms wit

toward Maya and whispered something in her

him for a chance; she straightened her posture, pushed down her off-shoulder peach sho

nerves. But something felt off, this wasn't just the haze of alcohol. It was

ntrol himself, but when he lo

r frame. But it wasn't just her, it was the way his mind twisted the moment. Her silh

e moved. The eyes that looked at him not

, her voice cutti

illusion cracked. It was

d didn't wa

lla?" he muttered under his breath, con

ectly on her lips and slid into the seat acr

d no longer a gentle hum, but he couldn't figh

m, legs crossed, her pe

was Isabella, he

s parting as if to spe

..." he w

, drinking in the way he looked at her like she was someone else, like

d softly, reachi

was Isabella. The girl he couldn't have.

use whatever Maya ha

t for her... but for the

the image of someone else, so be it. If that's what it took to have his eyes on her, h

he just wanted to be the one he looked at, even if the gaze wasn

g against his on the table, he didn't pull away. He w

Elio," she murmured, "I'm her

e didn't care if it wasn't rea

oxication, it was a haze that blurred reality. As Maya approached, her features softened in his vision,

esence commanding. "Elio," she

"Isabella?" he murmured,

"I'm here," she whisp

d, leaving only the phantom of a woman he l

and. The city lights blurred past as they reached the hotel.

ch tender. "It's okay," she so

mth, even if it was a mirage. For Maya, it didn't matt

ath him, cars and lights, But the only sound that reached him was the dull thrum o

nts quiet, calculating. She knew he was drifting, his body here, his mind

room catching the faint glaze in his eyes, not just

st, voice low and tir

y when they were a breath apart. "You loo

d like he saw her clearly. But then his hand reached out

asked for something without

said softly, more

urmured, but he

ck, not just with the scent of expensive perfume and wine, b

ehind him, her fingers threading gently through his hair, down the

. "Just for tonight," he said quiet

wanted to quench the hunger inside him. He pressed himself on her and deepened the kiss; Maya let out a moan; her head wa

louder than before; she unzipped his trousers and kissed him back like she was craving for him; it was like that trig

o feel more hot. He pulled her up, off her gown...off her pants, and slid inside he

im harder, sliding her tongue inside his mouth and that made Elio moan, he thrust harder, and Maya kept moanin

louder. Elio gets on his knee and pulls Maya's legs up; he slides inside her and thrusts harder and faster unti

im claiming her, their body colliding together, him claiming her as his woman and she would do anything to make that happen, she looked at him, her hand