Chapter Two.
10 hours later.
Xena's voice was full of excitement as she spoke into her phone, the kind of eager energy that could only come from being reunited with a best friend after a long time apart.
"Yeah, I’m at the airport... Goodness, calm down, haha. Yeah, sure, see you in a bit." She hung up the call, a grin spreading across her face as she felt the thrill of being in New York City for the first time.
As she walked out of the terminal, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
The night sky above was clear, and the lights of the city glittered like diamonds, illuminating everything around her.
It was colder than she had expected, the chill of the night air cutting through her jacket, but the city—this city—was alive in a way she had only seen in movies.
It was everything she had imagined and more.
Her eyes dropped to her phone, quickly typing out a message to her Nana and her brother, letting them know she had arrived safely.
She was so caught up in the thrill of the moment that she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings.
The busy hustle of the airport had given way to the quieter, late-night hum of the city, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from colliding with someone.
Her phone slipped from her hands, falling to the pavement with a soft thud.
"I’m so sorry!" she immediately apologized, bending down to pick it up.
But before she could reach for it, a hand appeared in front of her, effortlessly picking the phone up first.
Xena’s gaze instinctively lifted to meet the person’s face, and she froze.
The man in front of her had a presence that seemed to steal the breath from her lungs.
His eyes—grey, stormy, and oddly mesmerizing—were locked on her. Even in the dim light of the city, those eyes had a depth that held her in place.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away, and before she realized it, she had been staring at him for far too long.
Flustered, she snapped out of it, quickly looking away, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“I-I’m sorry.” she stammered, extending her hand out in a silent request for her phone.
But he didn’t immediately hand it over. Instead, he continued to stand there, his gaze unwavering as though he was in no rush to break the silence.
Xena tried to focus on something else, anything else, but her eyes couldn’t help but flicker back up to him. And that’s when she truly took him in.
He was tall, incredibly tall, and his broad shoulders and powerful frame were impossible to miss even in the dim light.
He wore a long, black coat that seemed to cloak him in an air of mystery, and though he was standing perfectly still, she could tell how muscular he was—his physique, his posture—it was all undeniable.
His jawline was sharp, almost too perfect, and a scar ran just below it, adding a rugged edge to his otherwise handsome face.
There was something strangely magnetic about the way that scar seemed to enhance his features, almost like it told a story of someone who had been through far more than most people could imagine.
Her attention drifted to his lips—full, sharp, and still. They were sexy in a way that made her heart race, but there was no warmth to them. He didn’t smile.
Not once. The lack of a smile should’ve been off-putting, yet it only seemed to add to his allure. But the more she looked, the more she felt it—a sense of danger that lurked beneath his stoic exterior.
This man didn’t just look handsome, he looked dangerous. And that realization made her pulse quicken in a way she couldn’t explain.
Swallowing hard, Xena quickly tore her eyes away from him again, stepping back slightly.
The cold seemed to intensify as she fought to steady her breath. His gaze—the weight of it—was unnerving.
There was an intensity in the way he watched her that made her feel both drawn to him and terrified of him at the same time.
"Be careful." he finally spoke, his voice deep and thick, sending a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the chilly New York air.
It was rich, commanding, and had a slight Russian accent, though his English was perfectly clear.
Xena took another step back, the words hitting her like a warning bell. She wasn’t sure what to make of him, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was the kind of person who shouldn’t be crossed.
His presence alone seemed to shift the atmosphere around them, the air thick with an energy she couldn’t quite place.
She swallowed hard, trying to compose herself as she extended her hand once more.
“Uh, thank you… for the phone.” she said, her voice shaking slightly, her heartbeat still racing in her chest.
He didn’t move to hand it to her immediately, still holding it with a steady, unflinching grip as he eyed her.
She couldn’t tell if he was simply waiting for her to take it or if he was waiting for something else, something more.
The seconds stretched on, but Xena could feel her body growing more and more uneasy in his presence.
The mix of his dark, intense energy, his intimidating beauty, and the subtle threat hanging in the air made her feel small, vulnerable—almost like a moth caught in the flame of something far more powerful than her.
She glanced around, searching for a distraction, but it was only the two of them in this small corner of the airport, with no one else around to help.
Then, slowly, as though he was in no hurry to go anywhere, he finally extended the phone toward her, his fingers brushing against hers for a brief, electrifying moment.
She flinched at the contact, but her hand closed around the phone almost automatically.
"Next time, pay attention." he added, his voice low and smooth, almost like a warning.
Xena nodded, stepping back a little farther, suddenly unsure of what to say or do next.
With his piercing gaze still following her, she felt as if she were standing on the edge of something she couldn’t understand—something dangerous, yet undeniably captivating.
“I… I’ll be careful. Thanks again.” she muttered.
Before he could say more, the honk of a car horn cut through the tension.
Xena turned to see Elena waving from the driver’s seat of a sleek black sedan parked at the curb. Relief flooded her, and she seized the opportunity to escape.
“I have to go.” she said quickly, turning on her heel. “Thanks again.”
She didn’t wait for a response. Practically running to the car, she could feel his eyes on her back the entire way.
When she reached the safety of the vehicle, she yanked the door open and slid inside, slamming it shut behind her.
“Who was that?” Elena asked, raising an eyebrow as she glanced at the man still standing on the curb, watching them.
“No one.” Xena replied quickly, her hands trembling as she buckled her seatbelt. “Let’s just go.”
Elena frowned but didn’t press further. As the car pulled away, Xena risked a glance back.
The man was still there, his grey eyes following their car until they disappeared into the city’s chaos. Even surrounded by the bustling streets of New York, Xena felt an unsettling certainty—she hope to never come across him again.
♡♡♡
"Sir?" The voice of Viktor's trusted bodyguard cut through the still air, but Viktor’s gaze remained fixed, unwavering, on the path the car carrying Xena had taken.
His sharp, steely eyes tracked the vehicle’s every movement, his mind working quickly but quietly, as if calculating each passing second with cold precision.
His bodyguard waited for a response, but Viktor was lost in his thoughts, the scene unfolding before him too captivating to ignore.
The car had vanished into the city’s chaotic pulse, but it had left an indelible impression on him.
The young woman... the way she moved, the way her eyes had locked with his. The curiosity and something else, something deeper, gnawed at him.
"Is the car ready?" Viktor asked suddenly, his voice deep and steady, the Russian words flowing from his lips like a low rumble of thunder.
His focus never wavered from the road where she had disappeared, as if he could still see her even though she was no longer in sight.
"Yes, Boss. It's ready." came the swift reply from one of his loyal guards, who stood a few paces behind him.
But Viktor, still unrelenting in his pursuit of the fleeting moment, didn’t move right away.
The bodyguard, sensing his boss’s inner turmoil, said nothing more.
They had learned long ago that silence was often the best response when Viktor’s mind was occupied with something—or someone.
Finally, Viktor broke from his trance, tearing his eyes away from the empty street and turning toward the waiting car.
His movements were deliberate, calculated, and yet there was an undeniable tension in the way he moved.
A sharpness, as though he was preparing for something, though he wasn't sure what yet.
As he climbed into the backseat, the door closing behind him with a quiet thud, he leaned back into the plush leather of the seat, letting out a slow, deliberate breath.
The driver didn’t need to be told. With a flick of the wrist, the car roared to life, pulling smoothly away from the airport and into the steady flow of traffic.
Two other black cars followed closely behind, the convoy moving like a shadow, an ominous presence in the night.
Viktor closed his eyes, his head resting against the cool headrest as the motion of the car lulled him into a brief moment of stillness.
But as soon as his eyelids fluttered shut, the image of her—those eyes, those oceanic depths—came rushing back to him, piercing through the darkness behind his closed lids.
He saw her again, her face clear in his mind’s eye, her gaze meeting his with that mix of curiosity and wariness.
He saw the way she looked away, almost embarrassed, before their brief interaction had ended.
He couldn't understand why her image had taken such a hold on him, why the thought of her lingered, insistent and relentless.
A growl rumbled deep within Viktor’s chest, the sound so low that even his driver would not have heard it.
He felt an unfamiliar stir of frustration, a slight agitation that unsettled him. The woman. She had gotten under his skin in a way no one had before. And he wasn’t used to that—no one had ever left such an impression on him, not in years.
The cold, calculating Viktor never let anyone slip past his defenses so easily.
His hand clenched into a fist, the tendons in his arm tightening as his mind raced with thoughts he couldn’t entirely control.
The more he tried to push her out of his head, the more vividly her face appeared—those haunting eyes, the way she had looked at him as though she could see through him.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was more than just another fleeting encounter. There was something about her, something dangerous, something he couldn’t ignore.
The city lights blurred past the windows, but in his mind, Xena’s face stayed as clear as if she were standing right in front of him.
Viktor’s breathing slowed, and he leaned forward, his eyes snapping open, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him.
He could feel his mind beginning to spiral, the raw intensity of her gaze lingering like a ghost that refused to be banished.
A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, but it wasn’t a smile.
It was something else—a dark, predatory smile. He was a man who took what he wanted, and he had no intentions of letting something as simple as a fleeting encounter stop him.
No, he would have her. Whether she realized it or not, whether she wanted it or not. She had caught his attention, and Viktor didn’t let go of things that intrigued him.
He glanced out the window, the motion of the cars almost soothing, as if he were already planning the next steps in a game only he could see.
"Next time." he muttered to himself, his voice thick with intent. "Next time, I’ll make sure you don’t look away."
As the black cars sped through the streets, a quiet sense of certainty settled over Viktor. The city was his domain, and no one—especially not a woman with eyes like hers—was beyond his reach.