Sasha flinched, not visibly, not enough for most to notice. But Aylin saw it. The way his jaw slackened just slightly. The way the storm behind his eyes faltered for a moment, like it had been caught mid-breath.
"I never meant…"
"I know. But I'm talking about what you see, but what they see."
Her words weren't laced with bitterness, but the ache beneath them was unmistakable. She stepped back, not far, but enough. Enough to keep him from reaching her, even if he tried.
Sasha's hand, the one not clad in leather, curled at his side. "Aylin…"
This time, his voice had a hint of danger in it. The kind that curled like smoke beneath a calm sky, quiet but unmistakably warning.
He wasn't angry at her. Not exactly.
