Kol in Baltimore 6

I stepped into the lobby with my coat still half on, jaw clenched so tight it hurt, every step reminding me how painfully hard I still was from Liv’s teasing, the leather smell, that last look she gave me… it was all sitting heavy in my blood.

I just needed to get upstairs, lock the door, take an ice cold shower, and pass out before I did something stupid.

Then I saw her.

Amara.

Leaning against the mailboxes in a cropped hoodie and grey leggings that looked vacuum sealed to her ass, scrolling her phone like she’d been waiting.

She glanced up the second the door shut behind me. Her eyes did that slow drag coat open, shirt wrinkled from the long day, the obvious ridge in my slacks I couldn’t hide anymore.

A smile spread across her face, wicked and knowing.

“Long day at the office, neighbor?”

She pushed off the wall, walked toward me slowly, hips rolling. “You look… tense.”

I swallowed. My voice came out rough. “Amara, don’t.”