Kyle lay there in the dim glow of the bedside lamp, his body slick with sweat, heart still pounding from the intensity of what had just transpired. Ella's red hair fanned out across the pillow like a fiery halo, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. The room smelled of their mingled scents—musk, desire, and something sweeter, like the vanilla body lotion she'd applied earlier. He hadn't planned for this to happen today, but the tension between them had been building like a storm cloud, inevitable and electric.
It started innocently enough, or at least that's what Kyle told himself. Ella had been teasing him for days, her silk shorts riding up as she moved around the apartment, her laughter a little too sharp, her glances a little too lingering. He'd caught her in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove, and when she turned to face him, the air crackled. Words were exchanged—playful at first, then heated.
