Page 44 of Cold Ignition

Something tightened in Keanu’s chest. “I wasn’t going to get in the way of that.”

“In the way of what?”

Keanu held his gaze. “You and Alexios.”

Understanding hit. “That’s why you never came back?”

Keanu didn’t answer. Didn’t need to.

Rangi exhaled slowly, something shifting in his expression—frustration giving way to something sharper. Clearer.

“You’re attracted to him,” he said.

Keanu went still. That was all the confirmation needed.

Rangi huffed a quiet, incredulous sound. “You thought he wouldn’t want you there?”

“No.”

Rangi stepped closer.

Close enough that the space between them disappeared.

“You really don’t understand him at all,” he said softly.

Keanu frowned. “Understand what?”

Rangi held his gaze. “You’d be surprised what Alexios wants.”

The words settled deep.

Then—

Rangi moved.

Caught the front of Keanu’s shirt. Pulled him in.

And kissed him.

Not tentative. Not hesitant. Certain.

Keanu froze—just for a heartbeat—then responded.

And everything shifted. The air. The space. The rules he’d been living by. Gone. Burned out in the space between them.

When Rangi pulled back, his gaze steady, voice low—

“I had to make sure you wanted me, too,” he said, “And next time you get these fucking ridiculous thoughts, you don’t decide that for us.”

No anger. Just truth. And something far more dangerous.

Expectation.

****

The room was silent in the way only expensive places could be.

Sound didn’t disappear here—it was absorbed. Contained. Managed.