Kennedy lies in her bed and stares at the ceiling as time moves around her. She's not sure how long it's been since Taehyung laid her in this bed, or since Jungkook inspected her ankle. It doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it did when she first fell, but she's not sure if that's because it's doing better or because of the medicine the medic gave her.

As day turns to night and the guards change shifts, she stays there thinking about the way Taehyung rushed to her. How he pushed Yoongi away from her and looked at him with the promise of swift and sure destruction if he moved. How he scooped her up with so much ease and carried her away from harm. How he'd looked at her like she actually meant something to him. As the lights are cut off in her room for "lights out," her thoughts prevent her from falling asleep.

She is still pissed about the way he talked to her the other day like she belonged to him. Like she was a toy he wanted to play with and nothing more. But after today... after that look...

She can't stop thinking about the darkness in his eyes as he glared at Jungkook for daring to touch her and the way the younger man backed off. Jungkook and Taehyung are day and night to each other. Where one is soft, the other is strong. Where one is light, the other is dark.

And as much as she knows she shouldn't, Kennedy can't stop craving the darkness. She closes her eyes and pictures the lean muscle of his neck and shoulders... the way his hands felt when they moved over her skin... the way his dark eyes seemed to light on fire when they looked into hers.

Despite her brain telling her what a terrible, awful, horrible idea it is, her feet won't stop moving to her cell door. Her hand won't stop picking the lock until her bare feet cross the threshold into the outer room. The guards don't look up as she crosses the room and for a second, she wonders if they simply ignore her because it's easier. At least she's in a room, and considering whose room she's going to, she considers the possibility that they hope he kills her so she won't be their problem anymore.

But that doesn't stop her from opening his door and sliding inside.

Her breath falls from her lips as her eyes meet his. She can barely see him in the dim glow of the security light over his bed, but she doesn't need to see much. His dark, wavy hair is even more unruly than usual. Like he's been running his hands through it over and over again. He's shirtless, only wearing a pair of loose sweats as he sits casually with his back against the block wall. He's got a book in his hand and she sucks in a soft breath when she sees the title.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

His face is soft and lovely, his eyes large and round, as he tosses the book down on the bed and crosses the room to her. In an instant, he's got his hands cupping her cheeks, his mouth and body pressing into hers urgently, but gently. She doesn't have the capability to push him away, even if she had the desire.

When he pulls away, his eyes search each of hers before he whispers, "You shouldn't have come. Does your ankle still hurt?"

"No," she answers softly, still unsure whether she's dreaming or awake. "I'm fine."

A tiny smile tugs at the corner of his lips before he's kissing her again. She loses herself in the feel of him for a moment as she runs her hands over his bare torso, feeling every curve and dip of his back, before her senses come back to her and she pushes at his chest. He backs away slightly, looking hurt.

"I don't understand you, Taehyung. What's with the sudden change?"

He rubs his lower lip with his finger as he looks at hers. When his eyes flick up to hers, he looks almost innocent. Contrite, at the very least. "I shouldn't have treated you that way. I just got so jealous when I saw you with that guard." His hands flutter over her upper arms and tangle in her hair, twirling it around the tip of his finger. "I've wanted you for so long, I guess I got worried that you didn't really want me the same way."

Some part of her is screaming at her to stop being stupid, but she doesn't listen. She doesn't want to. She wants to believe what he is saying is true. That someone could really want her that badly. His fingertips trailing over her jaw doesn't help. She closes her eyes and leans her head back as he moves forward and presses his lips against her throat.

"I'm sorry," he whispers against her skin. "Please forgive me," he adds with a nip of his teeth.

"Okay," is all she can manage. She can't see the smile on his face as he lifts her into his arms, but she wouldn't understand it even if she did. When she opens her eyes, his dark eyes are alight with some unrecognizable emotion that makes her shiver with something between fear and want. It's where her body stays with him. She wants him, even though she knows she shouldn't.

He's going to be the death of her.

Taehyung eases her into his bed, never taking his eyes off of her. It's hard to breathe under the weight of his stare, each inhale and exhale a conscious effort as his hands move down her body, pulling her clothes with them as they go. Goosebumps erupt over her skin as he drags his gaze away from hers to press his lips against her stomach. Then to the point where torso becomes hip. Then to the most sensitive part of her.

Kennedy's back arches from the bed as his lips and tongue find her. She can barely see his eyes, but what she sees is dark and dangerous and exhilarating in a way nothing else has ever been. Being quiet is nearly impossible as he tastes of her, lifting her from her moorings and sweeping her onto the rocky shore of her release. When he sweeps back up her body, marking her skin with lips and teeth, she's nearly delirious in her need to be filled by him.

But where he was rough and rushed before, he's slow and deliberate now. There's still power in the way he touches her, roughness in the bite of his teeth, but everything is sensual in a way she could have never expected. It's as if every touch, every breath, was planned specifically to drive her insane in her desire for him.

Minutes pass with him worshiping every dip and curve of her body until she's almost in tears with the ache in her core.

"Please, Tae," she whispers into the darkness.

"Not yet," he whispers against her collarbone, making her whimper. Before she can ask why, he throws the covers over her face and drops onto his stomach, going still as a rod. When she tries to get up, his hand is around her throat, holding her down. She has only a moment to hate herself for enjoying his dominance before she realizes what he's doing and goes still.

She hears a tap on the glass of his window as the guard looks in and her heart stills for a moment.

"Please tell me you remembered to fix your bed," he whispers without moving his lips.

"Of course, dipshit. This isn't my first jail break."

Taehyung stifles a laugh and gives the guard another minute to move away from the door before he hazards a look. A second later, the covers are thrown from her face.

"Get back up here," he grinds out as he pulls at her. Her heart trips over itself at the sound of his deep voice bossing her around. Before she even has time to register what's going on, he's sliding between her legs and rocking his hips into hers. She gasps and pushes her head back into his pillow as his fingers close around her throat and his lips around hers.

His mouth is hungry as he wraps his free arm around her head, holding her still as he thrusts into her with slow, sharp movements. Kennedy can't help digging her fingers into the skin of his back as he hits every erogenous spot on her body. As Taehyung gets closer to his own release, his breaths become moans that rumble through his chest and into hers. She watches as his face twists up into something between agony and ecstasy before he drops his head into the pillow beside her, laying his whole body against hers. She can't breathe, but she doesn't need to because the new angle is exactly what she needs and within minutes they're both moaning into the darkness. Taehyung moves his hand from her throat to cover her mouth as he starts to thrust harder, his movements rougher, his moans becoming growls as his release takes over his body.

When he comes, his teeth latch onto her shoulder so hard, Kennedy knows it'll draw blood but she can't seem to find a single fuck to give. Except the one she's giving Taehyung. Her own release follows seconds later and she cries out against his hand until they're both panting, chests heaving, with Taehyung's forehead resting against hers.

When he moves his hand and looks into her eyes again, she swears she sees an emotion she didn't think he had, but it's gone as quickly as it was there and he rolls over onto his back with a rumbling sigh. She doesn't move, unsure of what to do next, but knowing without a doubt that she's complicated things far beyond anything she's ever done before.

That is, until she falls asleep.