SIN

I tried to keep some distance between us, the rumours were flying around wildly and overwhelming, female teachers were telling not to ruin my great academic start up life, basically everyone warned me off him so I decided to give a little bit of space but his eyes lingered too long, his hand stayed too long on my back and I should've been scared of him. Everyone said he was dangerous. Tattoos. The leather jacket. The motorcycle that roared like thunder. The way he gave orders to the Vikings like he was their president but sitting with him on the admin steps as the sun set? I didn't feel threatened. I felt safe and that scared me more than anything.

"Angel Mark," he'd said softly.

Nobody had called me that in years. It used to sound like hope. Now it felt like he was digging up bones I buried.

I told myself to get up, to walk away. But then he smiled at me. Not the cocky smirk everyone else knew him for. This was different. A little shy, a little careful. Like if he moved too fast, he'd break the moment.

And little by little, my walls began to crack.

We started talking more.

At first, it was light. Him walking me to class. Bringing me coffee with fake names scribbled on the cup-Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock one time, Mrs. Steel another. Sitting in the back row during my art presentations even when I hadn't invited him.

He made me laugh. He made me want to talk again.

One afternoon, I asked him, "Why do you keep showing up?"

He leaned against his bike, arms crossed, hair messy in the wind. His voice was low when he answered.

"Because I blew my chance once. I'm not doing it again."

Catalina, my best friend, once again tried to warn me.

"Sin, I love you, but be real. Guys like him don't settle with girls like you, stop giving him the chance to use you.

His kind experiment and you're just the new flavour."

I wanted her to be wrong. But the doubt? It rooted itself inside me.

Until Steel showed up again.

One afternoon, I caught a girl shoving my sketchbook into the fountain. Before I could react, Steel was there. He grabbed her by the arm, pulled her aside, and his voice was calm but sharp as a knife.

"Touch her stuff again, and I'll make sure you never walk this campus feeling safe again."

The girl paled, stammered something, and ran.

Steel turned to me, his jaw tight. "You good?"

I nodded, clutching my sketchbook like it was my heart. "Yeah. Thanks."

He studied me, eyes softening. "Don't thank me. Just... let me be here."

Another time, I tried to disappear. One day, I didn't text him back. Didn't meet him after class. Didn't answer his calls. I drowned in everyone else's voices until I couldn't hear my own.

He found me anyway, sitting behind the studio building.

He didn't speak at first. Just sat down beside me. Our shoulders almost touched. A minute passed, then two. Finally, he said quietly,

"If I'm the one scaring you off, I'll go. But if it's still them? Then I'll spend every damn day proving them wrong because I'm not going to leave Angel."

My throat closed up. "I don't know how to do this," I whispered.

His hand found mine, rough and steady. "Then we'll learn together. But I'm not leaving, Sin. Not unless you tell me to."

Something in me broke open then. Because everyone else always had one foot out the door but not him. Not Steel.

He showed up in other ways too.

Like the morning I overslept before a big exam and thought I'd blown everything. I ran out of the dorm in a panic, only to see him parked right in front of the building, helmet in hand.

"Get on," he said.

I blinked at him. "How do you even know-"

"You always oversleep before exams," he cut in, smirking a little. "Now hurry. I'm not letting you fail because you missed a bus."

I climbed on behind him, clutching his jacket, and he roared us across town like the devil was chasing us. I made it to class with seconds to spare.

He winked at me before I ran inside. "Told you. I've got you."

Or the night after my presentation, when my piece got torn apart by a professor. I held it together until I got outside. Then the tears came.

Steel was leaning against his bike again, waiting. His smile fell the second he saw my face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," I sniffed, trying to brush past him.

He caught my arm gently. "Angel. Talk to me."

I shook my head. "They hated it. Said it was messy. Said it didn't mean anything. I worked on it for weeks and-" My voice cracked.

Steel didn't argue. Didn't try to fix it. He just pulled me into his chest and let me cry. His hand stroked the back of my head, slow and steady.

When I finally calmed down, he tilted my chin up. "You know what I think?"

"What?" I croaked.

"I think they're blind and I think your art scares them because it's too real."

I laughed wetly. "You're just saying that."

He shook his head. "No. I don't say shit I don't mean."

For the first time that day, I believed him and instantly felt enormous relief.

Steel shows up in big ways. In loud, dramatic ways that make people step back but he also shows up in small ways.

Like the way he texts me good luck before every class, even when he's busy.

The way he makes sure I eat when I skip meals, shoving a sandwich into my hands with a gruff, "Don't argue, just eat."

The way he notices when I'm too quiet and won't leave until I admit what's wrong.

The way he looks at me-not like I'm Sin, the distraction, the temptation-but like I'm Angel. The girl I used to be before the world buried her.

One night, I asked him again. "Why me, Steel? You could have anyone. Why me?"

He didn't hesitate. "Because you don't want anything from me except me. You don't see the captain, or the biker, or the guy everyone whispers about. You just see me, believe in my future without being told and nobody's ever done that before."

His eyes locked on mine then, steady and sure.

" I'm not letting you go. Not again."

And that's how I knew.

The world could whisper, they could sneer, they could throw doubts at me until my skin bled with them. But Steel?

Steel would always show up.

And that made me want to show up too.

For him.

For us.

For the first time in my life, I wasn't just surviving.

I was beginning to live.

STEEL

  I'd been planning for this day for weeks. Her eighteenth birthday.

  The very day I wasn't going to let the world and its noise get to her. No one of those slimy rumors, no envious stares, no sticky-hand professors. Just her and I.

  She had no idea I'd overheard the way I did. She never imagined anyone would. But I caught the small things. How she'd talked once about how her mom made a strawberry shortcake every year. How she hated red roses but loved lilies because they represented new beginnings. How she'd never once had someone sit out her birthday without appearing to be dying of boredom.

  So, yeah-I listened. I remembered. And I decided she was gonna get every damn thing she deserved.

  I stood outside her dorm, leaning against the bike with the box sitting on the seat beside me. I heard her footsteps before I could see her-light, cautious, like she was already bracing herself for disappointment.

  When she swung the door open and spotted me, her lips parted.

  "Steel?"

  I hesitated, smiled. "Happy birthday, Sin."

  Her face softened at once. No one addressed her in that tone without me asking them to, no one but me.

  "What are you doing here?" she asked, tugging at the cuff of her sweater as she did when she was angry.

  "What does it look like? I'm kidnapping you for the day." I nodded at the helmet. "Don't argue."

  She laughed-God, the sound killed me every time. "You're unbelievable."

  "And yet you're smiling." I handed her the helmet, took the box. "Hold this carefully. It's for you."

  Her brows furrowed as she peered inside. The cake. Frosting white, strawberries on top. Not bakery-perfect, but I'd put in the hours. My hands were used to gripping handlebars and fists, not piping bags, but for her? I tried my best.

  Her hand rose to her mouth. "Steel... you made this?"

  "Don't laugh at it." I massaged the back of my neck, getting a shiver of nervousness. "Might appear to be a five-year-old's attack with crayons, but it'll be good-tasting."

  She shook her head once more, eyes glassy. "No one has ever done something like that for me before."

  I had to swallow hard, because damn if that didn't punch me in the stomach. "Get used to it. This is just the start."

  We bucked out across the edge of town, the wind rushing through us. She hugged me tight, her cheek against my back, and I swear I felt like I was home. I took her to the old viewpoint above the lake. No one came here any more-it was ours now.

  I spread the blanket out, set the cake upon it, and produced the small box from my jacket pocket.

  "What's this?" she asked, eyes wide.

  I unfolded it. A line of silver, delicate, with a tiny charm shaped like an ink droplet-because she always had graphite smudges on her fingers, always drawing, always creating.

  Her breathing hitched. "Steel..."

  "Don't get it twisted," I growled, tightening it around her neck. "It's not jewelry. It's a promise. You're mine. Today. Tomorrow. Forever."

  She stroked the charm gently, her fingers shaking. "You only say things like that."

  "Because I do mean them." I held her face, running my thumb across her cheek. "I've waited too long to observe you at a distance. I'm done waiting."

  Her lips parted, and she did not look away, for once. "I don't know how to do this."

  "Then show me." My voice dropped hard and husky. "Just let me know if I ever get out of control."

  Her throat knotted as she swallowed, eyes slanting to my lips. "Steel..."

  And that was it. I waited no longer. I kissed her.

  Slow at first, with the frosting still on her lips, her breath freezing on mine. Then more forceful, hungrier, like I'd been years without sustenance. Her hands crept higher on my chest, wrapping into my shirt, and I swear my heart ceased functioning.

  I stepped back, forehead to hers. "You're eighteen now. Nobody can do this to us. You're mine, Sin. Say it."

  Her whisper was shaky, but sure. "I'm yours."

  Then with those words, the night shifted.

 Her whisper-"I'm yours"-was the dam break I'd been fighting for months.

 I pulled back enough to glimpse her face in the semi-darkness, the lake glinting in her eyes. She was skittery, yeah, but there was a spark, too. A kind of trust I hadn't expected.

 "Say it again," I whispered, tracing the tip of my thumb against her lip.

 She nibbled it gently before saying, "I'm yours, Steel."

 My chest pulled in so hard it ached. "Damn right you are."

 I kissed her again, slower. I wanted her to feel all of it-every promise, every hurt, every last fiber of patience I'd torched for this day. Her hands were tentative at first, tracing my jaw, then falling into my hair. When she tugged softly, a low growl escaped me.

 Her cheeks were aflame. "Did I... do that?"

 I smiled into her lips. "Angel, you don't know what you do to me."

 I put her back onto the blanket, leaning over her but not on top of her. My hands framed her face, moved to her shoulders, her waist. I memorized every curve as if I didn't have a second to spare.

 "You're shaking," I breathed.

 "So are you," she snapped back, her voice barely a whisper.

 That made me smile. "Fair enough."

 I kissed down the side of her neck, slow and deliberate, feeling her gasp. Every noise was a payoff. I'd never cared before about holding back for anyone-but her? Every second mattered.

 When my hand crept over her hip, she went rigid for a moment. I froze right away.

 "Too fast?" I asked, looking into her eyes.

 She hesitated, and then shook her head. "No... I just... I've never..."

 "I know." My tone was gentler now. "That's why we take it slow. You control it, Sin. You tell me when to stop."

 Her hands clamped on my shirt like she was afraid I'd disappear. "Don't stop."

 Those two words... shit. They crushed whatever hold I had on myself.

 I kissed her harder, my hand slipping under her sweater, following the warmth of her skin. She leaned against me, a low moan escaping her, and it nearly destroyed me.

 "You're so damn beautiful," I growled against her collarbone. "You have no idea how many nights I've imagined this."

 Her laugh was shaking. "You think about me that much?"

 "Every second," I confessed, stepping back far enough to catch her eyes. "I've had a crush on you since high school, Angel. You haunted me. Still do."

 Her lips trembled, and instead of answering, she pulled me back into her mouth.

 The sweater was taken off slowly, slowly. I did not want to look at her, but I did not want her to know that I was in a hurry. When the sweater moved over her head, she blushed and tried to cover herself with her arms.

 "Hey," I said softly, holding her wrists. "Don't hide yourself from me. You're perfect.".

 Her eyes blazed with doubt, but when I kissed the naked skin of her shoulder, then along her arm's line, she sank back.

 And then... her hands tugged on my shirt.

 "You want me to remove it?" I teased, raising a brow.

 She nodded quickly, chewing on her lip.

 I ripped it off in one motion, her eyes going wide as she stared. I chuckled low. "What? Didn't think the tattoos were real?"

 Her hand reached out, tracing the ink along my chest, slow and questioning. "They're... lovely."

 "Not half as lovely as you." My voice was gruffer now, heavier.

 She panted when I kissed down her chest, her belly, slowly. She wiggled under me, and I grinned on her skin. "Easy, Angel. We've got all night."

 Her laughter was breathless. "You're enjoying yourself, torturing me."

 "Damn right I am." I kissed down, just below her jeans, then back up to her. "But only because I know what comes next."

 Her pupils blew wide. "Steel..."

 That was all it took. Hearing my name said like that, hungry, shaking-it was gasoline on the fire.

 I kissed back up along her body, crouching over her, my mouth tracing her ear. "You ready for me, Sin?"

 She nodded, whispering, "Yes."

STEEL

I held her face, struggling to look at her. "I need to hear you, Angel. You're certain? You want this?"

She nodded, gasping for breath. "I want you."

Shit. That really did it for me.

I kissed her again, this time harder, tongue against hers as my hand moved down her side, slipping beneath the waistband of her jeans. She moaned into my mouth, her whole body tensing before relaxing against me.

You're shaking, I whispered against her lips.

Because of you, she breathed.

My heart squeezed. "Good. I want you to be shaking for me."

I unbuckled her jeans slowly, giving her the opportunity to stop me if she wanted. She didn't. She lifted her hips, and I pulled them off her legs. My breath caught when I revealed her in lace.

"Jesus, Sin." My voice was raw, stunned. "You're gonna kill me.".

She flushed, attempting to slip away, but I caught her wrists in a gentle hold. "No hiding. Not from me."

Her lips parted as I kissed down her belly, then lower, placing my mouth against the heat of her through the lace. She gasped, her back bending over the blanket.

"Steel-"

"Shh," I said, kissing her again, my teeth brushing softly. "Just feel me."

Her fingers entwined in my hair as I hooked my fingers around the lace and pulled it down her legs. My control snapped the minute I gazed at her-naked, soaked, waiting.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," I growled. "You have no idea how long I've dreamed of this."

Her eyes widened, but before she had a chance to get anything out, I lowered my mouth to her.

The half-gasp, half-moan noise she let out near drove me crazy there. I licked her slowly at first, teasing, tasting, as she threshed in my grip.

"Steel..." she complained.

I looked up at her, mouth wet. "Say my name like that again."

"Steel..."

I moaned into her, sucking her slowly, following my tongue until she was crying out, thighs constricting around my head. I pulled her apart, unyielding, until she shattered in my mouth, moaning so violently it barked off the trees.

As she at last lay back, gasping, I crawled up over her body, kissing her lips, letting her enjoy herself on me.

Her eyes were glassy, her face aflame. "That was..."

Just the start," I swore, fumbling with my belt. My dick was pulsating so hard that it hurt, and the instant I let it go, her eyes widened.

"Steel..." she gasped, wary.

I cupped her face again, making her meet my gaze. "Look at me. I'll go slow. I'll take care of you."

She nodded, swallowing. "I trust you."

That-those three words-were more important to me than anything.

I leaned in, the tip of my cock pressed against her entrance. She gasped, fingers digging into my shoulders.

"Easy," I breathed, kissing her forehead. "Breathe with me, Angel."

I eased in slowly, agonizingly. The hot tightness of her nearly destroyed me, but I stopped, gritting my teeth, giving her time to adjust.

"Hurts," she whimpered, eyes closed.

"I know, baby. I know." I kissed her softly. "Just wait a sec. I'll make it good for you. Promise."

Her breathing settled, her body relaxing beneath me. I kissed her once more, murmuring against her lips, "Ready?"

She nodded, and I moved-slow, easy strokes at first, coaxing moans from the back of her throat.

"Steel..."

"Yeah, Angel?"

"Don't stop."

I groaned, pushing deeper, the mixture of her moans and my own filling the air. The way she held on to me, the way her body tightened around me-it was all I ever wanted.

"Mine," I snarled against her neck, biting her gently. "You hear me? You're mine now."

"Yes," she gasped. "Yours."

That single word made me mad. I fucked her harder, still careful but no longer able to keep the raw hunger in check. Her moans rose, higher, until I felt her tighten around me.

"Steel-I-"

"That's it, Angel. Let go for me."

She came undone, screaming my name, and that was it for me. I plunged deep, groaning her name while I came, holding her like I'd never released her.

When I passed through, I collapsed against her, both of us panting, our sweat-soaked skin shivering.

She slid her fingers up my back, slowly. "Happy birthday to me," she breathed, giggling.

I laughed against her neck, biting her skin. "Best damn birthday I've ever given."

She was still trembling beneath me, her ribcage expanding and contracting so quickly I could almost feel every shuddering breath on my ribcage. She was red, her skin glistening with sweat, and for an instant I merely held her there, grounding myself in the way she enveloped herself around me as if I would disappear. I slid slowly, rolling us over so that she was on my chest. My hands combed through her hair, slicking it back, trying to keep both of us steady. "Are you all right?" I whispered, kissing her forehead. She nodded, more a shuddering brush against me. Her voice cracked out, nearly broken. "Yeah. Just... wow." A snort escaped me, half relief, half astonishment. "That's one way to put it." She tipped her head up after a beat, still flushing to the cheeks, eyes wide and stunned but desperately searching for mine. "Was I. was I okay?" "Angel." I took hold of her chin, insisting she meet my gaze when she tried to look away. "You were perfect. You're mine. There isn't any way wrong for you to be with me.". Her mouth fell open, protesting, but she caught herself. Instead, the edge of a weak, almost hesitant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth before she buried her face once more in my chest. We just lay there for a moment, the gentle lapping of the lake in the background. The blanket we were on was still warm from our body heat, the chill of the night air on wet skin. My hands traced languid patterns across her back, more instinct than thought. "You're thinking too much," I finally said. She breathed deeply. "I just... I never thought this would ever happen. Not with you." My brow furrowed. "Why not?" Her laughter was soft, but there was a weight to it that hurt my chest. "Because you're Steel. Everyone wants you. And me?" She shook her head. "I've been nothing but a distraction. A target. Sin." I came up enough to roll her head into view, to look at her. "Don't. Never call yourself that like it's something dirty. Do you hear me?" My voice was harder than I meant it to be, but I needed her to believe me. "You're not a distraction. You're the only thing in this fucked-up world that makes any damn sense to me." Her Adam's apple bobbed as she swallowed, her eyes sparkling before tears began to well up there. "Why me?" I leaned in, my mouth inches from hers, so close I could taste the salt of her tears on my lips as I whispered, "Because I saw you when no one else looked. I've wanted you since I saw you. And now that I have you, Angel? I'm not letting you go." Her tears spilled over, but she smiled through them, a fragile, beautiful thing. "You mean that?" I caught her face in my hands, wiping her cheeks with my thumbs like her tears were something sacred. "More than I've ever meant anything in my life." She kissed me afterwards-slow, sweet, nothing whatever like the passion of before. This kiss was firming, anchoring. The kind of kiss that made me think in ways I never thought I'd think. When we finally pulled away, I wrapped the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter. "Cold?" "A little." A smirk tugged at my mouth. "Guess I'll just have to keep you warm." She rolled her eyes, a soft laugh escaping. "You're impossible." "Yeah," I gasped, leaving a kiss to the tip of her nose. "But I'm yours." We lay tangled up, the stars scattered across the sky like they belonged to us. And in the quiet somewhere, I vowed something I knew I'd do. No matter who attempted to stand in our way-the gossips, the jealous idiots, even the sheriff who raised me-I wasn't going to let her ever slip away.