◇ KEL ◇ To my utter disadvantage, his simple greeting caused my heart to do backflips in my chest, and I almost cracked a smile. But, no―I wouldn't take it easy on him. I'd give him a dose of his own medicine first...maybe even leave him standing on my parents' front porch just for snubbing me the past weeks. So he was too busy to return my calls and reply to my texts, but not too busy to fly all the way out here just to bring me cake and a bouquet? "Glad you didn't forget," I muttered. The posy of tulips, roses, and sunflowers sat quietly on the pink cake box. Okay. So he hadn't forgotten my top three favorites. "Sorry I didn't catch the party." Miles handed me the flowers and held the cake box with one arm. Indeed he was hours late for my luncheon party, but at least he took the time to be here and bring me birthday gifts. I stopped pretending to be busy smelling the roses. I tilted my head to regard him.  Although the part

◇ KEL ◇   12:35AM In the quiet of my own room, the moment my brain just gave up and stopped processing the glossary terms in my new Pharmacology book, I heard my phone beep. New message?  I glanced at my nightstand clock. Well past midnight. Probably just Gaia, texting me goodnight. I had asked Gaia to come over again to keep me calm and semi-normal. Unfortunately, my best friend wanted me to deal with Miles on my own. "Just play his game," was Gaia's poor advice for me.  "And tell him you don't need him, or his filthy rich family and shady connections." Out of burning curiosity and anxiety, I  got up from my desk to check my phone. My heart jumped when I read his alias on the screen. Yep. I had to use aliases now—actually his request. "Still up?" his text read. "So now you feel like texting me?" For a long minute or two, I just stared at his message. The diminutive voices in my

◇ KEL ◇ "Fuck." The guy pushed himself off of my limp body. Miles practically ran away from the bed after cussing out loud, panting and clenching his fist repeatedly. Perturbed by the sight, I flinched at his odd behavior while holding my breath. His reaction wasn't quite what I expected when he took me to bed, kissing me hard again and again till I could barely think straight. But now he wouldn't even look at me. "What?" I held back a frown and stayed incredibly still on the thick covers. The dimness hid most of his features as he sat on my bed. Miles stayed mum as he tried to get a grip on his emotions. For a moment, he remained hunched over on the edge of the covers. "What's wrong?" I murmured. Shame warmed up my neck and face―not because every inch of my nudity was exposed, or that he wore nothing but a look of exasperation on his face. What I found utterly embarrassing—mortifying—was the fact that I just let him have his way. I didn't even say no. Without compromise, I l

◇  KEL ◇   JFK International Airport, New York  "Exams over?" "Yeah. For now." I glanced at the guy sitting next to me and put my seatbelt on, knowing Enzo prioritized safety now after what happened to him back in Umbria.    The car locks clicked. The tinted windows hid us from the outside world as his chauffeur drove out of the university's parking area. "We'll be back in four days, maybe three," Enzo said while hiking his sleeves up to his elbows. His black jeans and plain sweater looked quite underwhelming compared to the Italian three-piece suits he donned on a regular basis. He seemed much more approachable with this casual getup, though.  "If things go smoothly." If things go smoothly?  Did that mean there was a good chance this offhand trip to Serbia wouldn't end in our expected turnout?  I would be risking my life for this trip. Well, in a sense. I

◆ MILES ◆ 12:09AM   "Found them?" I flumped myself on the sofa and didn't care for my impatient tone. It wasn't like I owed it to Niccolo to be polite. Niceness had left my common sense the second I found out Mykaela met up with Lorenzio again. Which was also why Niccolo came over.