Midnight Code

Laila wasn’t used to this.

Not the mission being over. Not the quiet.

And definitely not him.

Aziel had been different since that night on the balcony. Since the kiss. He wasn’t pushing, wasn’t demanding—just there, steady, patient.

It drove her insane.

Because Laila wasn’t patient. She didn’t wait. She took what she wanted, if she wanted it.

And now, with Aziel sitting across from her in the dimly lit safe house, flipping a knife between his fingers like he wasn’t the reason her heart was pounding—

She was losing it.

Zayn was asleep. The house was silent. And yet, the air between them was thick with everything unspoken.

She exhaled. “We need to talk.”

Aziel raised a brow. “That’s a first.”

Laila ignored the jab. “Are you regretting it?”

His smirk faded. “You think I regret kissing you?”

She shrugged, suddenly feeling small under his gaze. “I don’t know.”

Aziel leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Laila, if I regret anything, it’s not doing it sooner.”

Her breath hitched. “Aziel—”

He was already moving. Slow, deliberate. He stopped just inches from her, watching, waiting.

Laila’s fingers curled into fists. He’s waiting for you to decide.

So she did.

She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him down into a kiss that was nothing like the first one.

This wasn’t hesitant. This wasn’t careful.

This was fire.

Aziel groaned against her lips, his hands coming up to cup her face, tilting her head back to deepen the kiss. She gasped when he pulled her into his lap, his hands firm on her waist.

“Laila,” he murmured against her skin, his lips trailing along her jaw, down her throat. “You drive me crazy.”

She smirked, running her fingers through his hair. “Good.”

Then she kissed him again, losing herself in him, in this, in the way Aziel touched her like she wasn’t just a weapon, but something precious.

And for the first time in a long, long time—

Laila let herself feel.

---

Chapter: The Fire We Started

Days passed.

They were still in hiding, waiting for the right moment to move again. But Laila barely noticed.

Because Aziel didn’t just kiss her once and walk away.

He kissed her every chance he got.

In the hallway. Against the kitchen counter. In the dim glow of the safe house’s tiny living room.

She hated it.

Loved it.

Needed it.

And the worst part? Aziel knew.

“You’re thinking too much,” he murmured one night, pulling her against him in bed.

Laila stiffened. “We’re literally married, but this—this thing between us—it wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Aziel hummed, pressing a slow, lazy kiss to her shoulder. “Laila, we were always going to happen.”

She hated that her pulse jumped. Hated that he was right.

“You think you know everything,” she muttered.

Aziel chuckled, low and deep. “I know you.”

Laila swallowed hard. “That’s what scares me.”

Aziel turned her face toward him, his thumb tracing her lower lip. “Then let me show you that you don’t have to be scared. Not with me.”

She didn’t respond. But when he kissed her, slow and deep, she knew she was already falling—

And there was no turning back.