The vehicle remained motionless, its headlights casting long, eerie shadows. The rain pounded against its hood, running in streaks down the black paint.

Something felt wrong.

Strongly wrong.

Slowly, she raised a trembling hand over her forehead, shielding her eyes from the rain as she tried to get a better look. But it is a tinted glass. Her gut twisted violently. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run, to move, to do something.

Then, the car window slid down.

And her breath hitched.

It was *him.*

His eyes locked onto hers instantly, piercing through the dimly lit night like a predator spotting wounded prey. Even through the rain and darkness, his stare burned into her—sharp, unrelenting, dangerous.

A shiver crawled down her spine.

For a moment, she couldn't move. Fear gripped her limbs, paralyzing her in place.

If he caught her now…

No. No!!

It would be end for her and her freedom. She will again be in his clutches.

The sharp click of the car door unlocking sent a jolt of electricity through her. It was as if that sound had flipped a switch inside her, snapping her back to reality.

*Run.*

Her body moved before she could think.

Spinning on her heels, she bolted in the opposite direction, splashing through puddles as she sprinted through the rain. The cold bit at her skin, but she didn’t care. Her only focus was escaping.

She didn’t dare look back.

The pounding of her own footsteps filled her ears, her breaths coming in ragged gasps. But then—another sound joined hers.

Heavy. Fast. Gaining.

Her stomach lurched.

Against her better judgment, she risked a glance over her shoulder.

Terror slammed into her chest.

He was right there.

Not far. Not nearly far enough. His long strides ate up the distance between them effortlessly, his dark silhouette cutting through the night like a nightmare given form.

Panic surged through her. She pushed her legs harder, willing herself to move faster—faster. But the rain-slicked ground worked against her, each hurried step threatening to send her sprawling.

Then—

A strong hand clamped around her wrist.

Before she could scream, she was yanked back with brute force, her momentum slamming her into a solid chest. The impact stole the air from her lungs. A gasp barely escaped her lips before another force overpowered her—

His mouth.

Hot, desperate, consuming.

His lips crashed against hers in a frantic, punishing kiss, swallowing the breath she had barely managed to take. His grip on her tightened, one hand tangling into her rain-soaked hair, the other securing her waist as if daring her to try and escape.

Her body went rigid. A wave of shock paralyzed her, her mind struggling to process what was happening.

She had been running for her life—and now she was trapped in his grasp, his mouth stealing the very air she needed to scream.

The rain poured around them, soaking them both, but he didn’t seem to care. He held her there, claimed her with the sheer force of his presence.

And for the first time, she realized—

She had never truly escaped him.

Not even once.

*****

The distance between them had stretched unbearably long, and the days apart had only fanned the flames of his longing. Now, with the night rain drenching them both, she ran—her wet silhouette illuminated by the occasional flicker of streetlights. But to him, her escape was nothing short of a provocation. The way her soaked clothes clung to her body, the way her hair swayed with every desperate step—everything about her ignited something dark and possessive in him.

And then, he caught her.

His hands gripped her arms, his chest heaving with restrained desire and unbridled anger. Without hesitation, he crushed his lips against hers, kissing her savagely. His lips moved with a feverish desperation, claiming her as if she were the very air he had been deprived of. His tongue forced its way into her mouth, relishing in the familiar taste of her, the nostalgic sweetness he had only imagined during those torturous months apart.

She thrashed against him, but he restrained her wrists, keeping her locked beneath his dominance. Her head tilted up as he deepened the kiss, her breath swallowed entirely by his hunger. When her struggles weakened, he finally released her lips, leaving her gasping for air.

Her chest heaved as she desperately tried to fill her lungs, rainwater dripping from her trembling lips. But instead of guilt, he was drawn in further—mesmerized by the sight of her struggling because of him.

He was lost in the moment, in her, when her voice cut through the night like a dagger.

"Leave me… please… Leave me! HELP!" she screamed, terror lacing every word.

His expression remained eerily calm, though his jaw tightened. His grip on her arm hardened as she fought against him like a captured bird frantically trying to escape a hunter’s grasp.

“Why did you run away?” His voice was deceptively quiet, a dangerous undercurrent of rage simmering beneath the surface.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she struggled harder, her wet limbs slipping through his grasp momentarily before he yanked her back with force.

“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU RUN AWAY?” he roared, shaking her so violently that she gasped in shock, her eyes wide with fear.

In the dim glow of a distant streetlamp, she caught a glimpse of his face—his eyes, bloodshot with fury, locked onto hers. Her breath hitched, and a silent sob escaped her lips before she began to fight harder, her desperate struggle reigniting.

But he had had enough.

“This is not enough,” he murmured darkly.

A sharp whistle escaped his lips, cutting through the rain. Within moments, a sleek black car skidded to a stop beside them.

She tried to resist, her body sinking onto the rain-soaked pavement, refusing to move. She clung to the ground as if it were her last sanctuary. But his patience had worn thin.

With one swift motion, he lifted her effortlessly, throwing her into the car. The door slammed shut behind them, sealing her fate.

She didn't waste a second. The moment she regained her senses, she lashed out, her hands flailing, her nails clawing at him in blind desperation.

"HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY, PLEASE!"

Her screams tore through the confined space, but the unclosed window at the front slowly rolled up, muffling her cries.

She fought harder, her body thrashing in his grip until his arms locked around her entirely, rendering her immobile. With one hand, he pressed a switch, and the divider between the front and backseat rose smoothly, severing any last connection she had to the outside world.

Her breath hitched. Fear coiled tightly in her stomach.

Then, in the suffocating silence, he turned to her.

His hands grabbed her wrists, pinning them on either side of her head as he hovered above her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Both of their eyes burned red—his with anger and longing, hers with fear and helplessness.

She stared up at him, regret dawning on her face. Her desperate attempt to escape had only delivered her straight into his hands.

His jaw clenched as his gaze devoured her, taking in every inch of her form. For months, she had existed to him only through a screen, a cruelly distant illusion. Now, she was here, real and tangible, right beneath him. He noted every detail—the tears pooling in her wide eyes, the small nose pin gleaming against her sharp features, the delicate curve of her lips.

Lips he had craved to taste for far too long.

Without warning, his mouth crashed onto hers once more.

The intensity was relentless, his lips moving against hers with raw desperation. Rainwater dripped from their faces, mingling with their breaths, filling the car with the scent of the storm outside. His kiss was bruising, consuming, drowning out her muffled protests until she could barely make a sound.

Her body tensed beneath him, every fiber of her being resisting the inevitable.

Her tongue struggled to form words, to push out even the smallest protest against him. But it only made things worse.

He took advantage of it.

The moment she parted her lips, he seized the opportunity, his tongue invading her mouth, taunting, teasing, dominating. He played with her tongue, savoring the helplessness in the way he devoured her. His grip on her wrists remained unrelenting as she twisted and turned in his hold, her body thrashing in frantic resistance. Her legs kicked against the door, against the window—anywhere she could reach—desperately seeking escape.

But he was stronger.

And he was relentless.

Her struggle, her defiance—it only fueled him further.

Yet as the assault continued, as his lips claimed every breath she tried to steal, the fight within her slowly began to fade. The more he consumed her, the more her strength drained away. The only mercy he allowed was brief moments where he pulled back just enough for her to gasp for air—seconds, mere seconds, barely enough to keep her from passing out.

And it was important to keep her awake.

The car moved through the dark streets, the steady hum of the engine the only sound between them apart from the ragged breaths she took between sobs. He hadn’t released her, not until he felt her body go slack beneath him, until she had surrendered completely. Her arms, once struggling against his grip, now lay limp above her head. Her chest heaved with exhaustion, her damp lashes fluttering shut, and tears trailed silently down her pale cheeks.

Finally, he pulled away from the crook of her neck, his heated breath fanning over her damp skin as he studied her. His gaze raked over her, checking to see if she had lost consciousness.

A single tear trickled down from the corner of her eye.