The entire training ground seemed to hold its breath, suspended in a fragile, impossible silence.
Because what had just happened…
No one expected it.
Not the guards.
Not Miles.
Not Asher.
Not even Sebastian.
Aliena's lips were still pressed against his when the world slowly began to return.
The heat.
The tension.
The racing of her heart.
And then—
Sebastian moved.
Not away.
Never away.
His grip on her tightened suddenly, one hand firm against her waist as he pulled her closer—closer than before, closing whatever distance had dared to exist between them.
And then he kissed her back.
Deeply.
Completely.
This time, it wasn't surprise.
It wasn't hesitation.
It was intention.
His anger—
That raging, dangerous storm that had consumed him just moments ago—
Didn't disappear.
It melted.
Morphed.
Shifted into something just as powerful, but no longer destructive.
Something warmer.
Something consuming in a different way.
