I woke up.
The diamonds shimmered on the bedside table — quietly, delicately, as if they didn’t want to wake me.
These watches stopped being just an accessory long ago.
They became my second essence.
An extension of my wrist — and of the time I live in.
I smiled.
Hello.
Hello, they answered back, quietly pointing to the time.
3:15.
I lifted my eyes.
What the…
The light was on in the bathroom.
My heart jerked before my head caught up.
Nate isn’t asleep.
And not for no reason.
— Damn…
What do I do.
What do I do.
Hades immediately burst out of the darkness, clawed into my head and started tearing his hair out:
What if he wants to leave us?
What if he doesn’t know how to say it?
What if this is that exact moment when everything changes?
And what if there’s someone else.
Or he’s fallen out of love with us.
I exhaled.
— Okay. Calm down. No one is leaving us.
It’s just…
Damn, I really don’t know what this is.
It could be anything.
We’ll ask. Now.
One more deep breath.
I put on my robe, paused for a second by the mirror — not checking myself, but gathering myself.
And went.
Knock.
Silence.
Knock.
Silence again.
I covered my eyes with my palm.
Nate?
No one.
Just Rufus.
— Hm… — I crouched down and scratched him behind the ear. — And where is your favorite person?
Rufus instantly perked up — his tail twitched, his gaze sharpened, focused. Businesslike.
Right. Of course.
— Alright, — I sighed. — Let’s go together.
Rufus bolted ahead and almost slipped on the stairs.
God, you’re such a bear.
And he led me to the kitchen.
— Kitten? — he smiled faintly.
I froze mid-step and switched into rapid analysis, almost automatic:
one leg crossed over the other,
leaning against the counter,
whiskey in his hand.
Damn.
God, with men you can never tell.
Comfort them — “I’m strong, I’ve got this.”
Support them — “I’m strong, I’ve got this.”
Ignore them — not an option.
— Nate… um… sweetheart, I… I, listen, I—
— It’s okay, kitten.
And I froze.
Not because I believed him.
But because he said it like that.
Nate looked straight into my eyes.
And suddenly I grew serious.
— Nate.
He was silent.
I narrowed my eyes.
— You saw it?
— Yeah.
— What do you think?
He looked away slightly, took a sip, and lingered in that movement.
The pause was too honest to be accidental.
— I don’t know yet. I was actually thinking about it.
Damn it.
— Sorry if I interrupted, I didn’t mean to — and I quietly turned away.
— Little mouse…
— Hey.
— Don’t go.
He stepped toward me and gently pulled me into his arms.
Warmth spread through me instantly.
— I don’t want to get in the way. If you really need to think…
— Mouse, — he smiled faintly. — I want to know your opinion.
He held me, waiting.
— I think… — I paused, as if choosing words not with my head, but with something deeper. — I think it’s not quite like that.
— In what sense? — Nate asked.
It was about a video.
I froze.
For some reason, a strange, almost childlike thought flashed through me: how did Nate even see that?
There was a clip on YouTube Shorts where a guy said that a wife doesn’t choose her state — she only reflects it.
If a man is weak, she becomes his mother.
If he’s unreliable, she becomes anxious, angry, dissatisfied.
If he’s stable and she feels safe with him, she behaves like a child — joyful, playful, light.
The first two were clear.
But the third…
Everything felt strange.
It wasn’t even about Nate’s question — it was about the atmosphere.
Here he is, in the kitchen, talking to me.
And that is strange.
We don’t usually talk about things like this.
And I narrowed my eyes.
I narrowed my eyes.
And, almost imperceptibly, I took a step back.
Even farther away from him.
— Sweetheart…
He smiled.
— Will you walk around the room?
He silently pushed himself off the countertop and walked around the kitchen island.
Unhurried.
Without unnecessary movements.
I narrowed my eyes.
— Is something wrong?
— Can you walk some more?
What are you looking at? — Hades snorted.
I need markers.
His body will give him away soon, and I want to be ready.
He moved in a circle — calm, measured.
No fuss.
No quickening of pace.
He was simply in his body and in his energy.
Like a shark.
That precise, adult, dangerous quiet.
No sudden lunges.
No performative strength.
A predator.
God, he’s so hot… — Ursula whispered,
while Pocahontas nervously chewed her nails, circling again and again.
— Guys, not now.
I narrowed my eyes even more.
The gaze — cold.
Collected.
He’s wearing only trousers.
Clean-shaven.
Well-groomed.
His body slightly tense.
He scans the space.
As always — impeccable and intelligent.
But…
But something is off.
Don’t get distracted, Nazokat. Watch him.
His jaw shifted slightly.
Excellent. First marker.
His legs move in rhythm, but he puts more pressure on the right — especially on the turn.
His pupils dilate with a slight delay.
And finally, when he passes closer to me, the hair on my arms lifts slightly.
Perfect.
Information collected.
— So? — he smiled, reading my thoughts.
The smile — flawless.
Perfect.
I suddenly felt uneasy.
How many women had he ruined with that smile.
How many times it had been a door through which balance was lost.
And will I be the next one?
I narrowed my eyes.
— Stand in the corner.
And I myself began to circulate around the island,
slowly,
constantly keeping him in my field of vision.
He has matured.
Grown taller.
Broader.
His hands denser — not pumped, but assembled, like a tool.
His gait is no longer uniform — pauses appeared in it, micro-stops.
His Adam’s apple stands out more.
His hair…
Hm.
There’s more of it…
His feet stand more evenly, more firmly, as if he has finally decided where his center of gravity is.
I walked, counting not steps —
but changes.
The realization came sharp and crude.
He isn’t hesitating.
He is holding himself back.
I narrowed my eyes.
I stepped closer.
And everything in me woke up at once —
logic, reason, control
retreated like polite but unnecessary witnesses.
Only desire remained. Pure. Untrained.
— Don’t do this… — I whispered into his ear.
It wasn’t a warning.
It was a request.
He slowly licked his lips.
He has nowhere to rush.
He knows time is working for him.
— Kitten…
And I blushed.
Not from embarrassment.
From recognition.
From the fact that he pressed exactly that point again
where I stop being an analyst
and become alive — and under his power.
He lightly ran a finger from my neck down to my chest, barely touching,
and my body responded before I did —
with warmth, a flash, a treacherous clarity of desire.
I held my breath.
My breasts filled with blood and my nipples swelled, giving away the answer to his request.
He stepped closer
and pressed me against the wall —
Not by force,
but by his presence.
So close that the space between us disappeared.
So close that my thoughts scattered,
and time turned viscous.
I felt his breathing.
Mine too.
He lowered his hands further.
And lower.
And his fingers were under my slip.
I moaned.
Nate, please…
I’m not sure I’m controlling this.
He kissed me without removing his fingers.
I was breathless with pleasure and lust.
I started to lose control,
my head began to spin.
No. No.
I pushed him away.
Damn it, stop!
He raised his hands.
Kitten.
Sweetheart.
I slapped him.
He didn’t flinch.
I looked at him again
and began to circle around him.
And suddenly it hit me.
Like a click.
He’s doing this on purpose.
I got angry.
Why do you need this?
You’ve changed, kitten.
He stood there, so dark,
and I could feel his strength calling to me.
— I’m afraid to cross the line.
— I’ll handle it, — he threw his head back.
I switched instantly,
as if he were controlling me.
The reins were sharply taken into other hands,
and a second before shutting down I realized — I was no longer here.
She sharply grabbed his jaw, squeezing his cheekbones.
— What a bad boy.
His eyes flickered, predatory.
She kissed him and pushed him away,
playing with him, indulging herself as she pleased.
He straightened up and stepped toward her,
and with one movement, pressed her against the wall again,
with such a dull sound
that it knocked the breath out of her for a second.
She slid her fingers into his hair and pulled — not hard, but deliberately.
He licked his lips.
The lip hadn’t healed yet from last time.
And she tore it open again.
Blood flowed,
illuminating the initiation.
Both predators were here.
Both powerful.
Both hunters.
She purred like a little cat, moving her hips.
He stood and watched her.
She climbed onto the table and began to arch, calling him to her.
He touched her with his lips, slowly moving from her heel to her thighs,
and bit her deliberately, roughly — the way a lion bites a lioness.
She cried out and kicked him.
He came alive
and wiped the blood away.
This was exactly what he had been after.
He was waiting for her wildness, her defiance.
She purred again.
He stepped closer, and she slapped him.
But it didn’t disturb him.
Solid and strong, he remained completely unfazed.
He spat out the blood, and the slap became a trigger.
She arched.
The initiation was over.
He stepped closer again, becoming himself once more.
Gentle.
Attentive.
He carefully lifted her off the table.
He smiled.
He gently stroked her hair and lightly bit her ear — very carefully, tenderly.
She kissed him
and rubbed his lip.
I’m sorry, my love.
It’s nothing, — he waved it off.
How she loved his strength,
his masculine essence.
Little mouse.
Mm — I rubbed my nose against his cheekbones.
You know how much I love you.
I blushed.
He kissed me.
…
Nate?
He was smoking.
And so was I.
You’ve become so grown-up.
He smiled.
You have too, kitten.
I looked at him — so solid, so heavy, no longer a boy.
Before, he had been a little lighter, a little softer.
Now he had become so dark.
Sweetheart, — he exhaled the smoke.
Mm.
I took a banana, and he licked his lips.
God, you’re a maniac.
No, no, no, no, — I pleaded. — No, we just did, I can’t, I’m exhausted.
I slowly retreated into the corner.
— Nate, please, I, I—
He lowered his gaze.
No, no— ah!
I ran around the island.
He caught me when I ran out of breath.
— Kitten — a gentle kiss to my neck.
I started to give in again, to lose myself in space.
Oh my God, Nate.
He bit my neck.
I cried out and slapped him.
It happened on its own, and I got scared.
God, I’m sorry, my love, I didn’t mean to…
But Nate was no longer Nate.
His eyes were dark and cold.
I swallowed.
He gripped my hips.
I screamed.
Nate!
Kitten.
My little mouse.
My gentle one.
My angel.
I began to lose myself, stopped breathing.
Oh God, how can you refuse him?
…
I lit another cigarette.
Sweetheart.
I tensed up.
Kitten, tell me you don’t want more.
I blushed.
Nate, I— what are you doing?
I know you’ve changed, and there’s darkness in you.
I lowered my gaze.
You’re not the same as before.
Maybe so.
But why do you need this?
I want all of you.
I pretended I didn’t understand what he meant.
Kitten, please.
I exhaled.
I don’t know, Nate. I’m afraid this could turn into something unhealthy.
After all, I hit you — this isn’t a game.
I trust you.
And I trust myself.
What if you hit me?
That won’t happen.
I stepped back from him.
Passion is a tricky thing, Nate.
Who knows, it could cross the line.
Sweetheart, if that were possible, it would have surfaced immediately —
the moment I started entering that mode, right?
I nodded.
That made sense.
Darkness is strongest at the beginning.
If he didn’t want that then, now that they are allies,
it won’t drag him into deviant behavior.
I calmed down a little.
Kitten.
Mm.
I want you to understand.
I froze, not breathing.
I love him so much, and the fear of losing him drains all the air from me.
Sweetheart, I love all of you — not in parts, not in moments. All of you.
I don’t know what to say, Nate.
I want you not to tense up.
I love your dark side.
You don’t need to be afraid that I’ll reject you.
I don’t know, Nate. I don’t know.
Kitten.
He kissed me.
The ground slipped away beneath my feet again.
He kept kissing me.
Tell me, sweetheart.
Damn, I— I— Nate, don’t—
He gripped my hips, and I finally gave in.
Oh God.
A click.
I forcefully grabbed his jaw again.
Fear wouldn’t let her fully emerge.
I sharply pulled myself back.
God, Nate, what if I’m dangerous?
Tell me, sweetheart.
I hesitated for a second.
Just one second.
Say it in my ear — I can’t look you in the eyes.
He leaned closer.
And she bit his ear.
He recoiled.
Damn it.
His eyes flashed with darkness.
— Got it?
You’ll provoke me less now.
He laughed.
My behavior shifted sharply —
it was already only half me.
Control was still there,
but she was coming out bolder now and, to put it mildly, had no intention of asking the kitten for permission.
She was twisting something in her hand — some kind of belt — and circling around him.
He didn’t know where the blow would come from.
— What do you want to hear?
That I’m insatiable?
That I’m greedy for you and your body?
He threw his head back and closed his eyes.
— What do you want?
You want rage?
You want darkness, boy?
You shouldn’t play with fire — if she lets me out fully, you’ll have to think very carefully about whether you can handle that kind of power.
He opened his eyes.
— Easy, kitten.
And she slapped him with all her strength.
He spat blood.
— I’m no coward, sweetheart.
She smirked.
We’ll see about that….