WORD COUNT: 3372
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HER MOTHER'S WORDS from the night before had been circling through Kyra's mind all morning. A mantra she hoped she could believe if she repeated it to herself enough. If Coriolanus infuriated her, she'd bite her tongue. If he made things too difficult, she'd get it done alone. If that strange tension rose between them again, she'd stop her heart from beating wildly out of control.
He was just a man. How much power could he really have over her?
Perhaps she was tempting fate by asking such a question.
Winding through the university's halls, too lost in her thoughts to pay much attention to her surroundings, Kyra turned a corner and collided with a firm chest. Stumbling backwards, the startled woman fought to keep balance as her heels wobbled, saved by the quick reflexes of the person she had bumped into as large hands landed onto her waist to steady her.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying..." Kyra's gaze trailed up the tall man, words disappearing from her mouth as her eyes landed on the frustratingly smug expression of Coriolanus Snow.
"Attention is the word you're looking for, Tanwen. And 'thank you' are the next two." Coriolanus teased, a mocking glint in his eyes as he stared down at the shorter woman, one brow raised and the side of his lips curved into a small smirk.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Suddenly, as Kyra felt her heartbeat pick up and breathing become more difficult, she remembered why he had such power over her. Coriolanus was more than just a man. He was a disconcertingly handsome devil. A devil who's magnetising gaze and addictive touch left her feeling both disgusted, infuriated and craving more. A strange sensation that Kyra could only assume was how addicts felt towards Morphling.
And Coriolanus Snow was not blind. His brows furrowed as the silence stretched on, slightly concerned by the lack of her usual insulting remarks. This was the third time she had stared at him like this, pupils dilated and the bitterness usually in her eyes missing. The only thing he could see now was fear.
It was the same look he had seen in Lucy Gray's eyes time and time again, the only other person who had regarded him with something other than enchanted admiration. Coriolanus still wasn't sure what it was a fear of. Fear of him? Fear of vulnerability? Fear of love? Or a combination of all three?
But Kyra did not care for him, let alone love or admire him, and she had made that clear many times. Then again, she had never regarded him in the way she had been recently, so he wondered if such a deep-rooted, yet seemingly unfounded hate could change. The thought pleased him. Perhaps he'd have to play a little game of his own.
"I'll thank you when you stop clutching my waist like a desperate virgin, Snow." Kyra eventually fired back, her eyes hardening into her more familiar expression of loathing.
"I think my reputation more than proves the inaccuracy of that statement." Coriolanus retorted smoothly, letting go of her waist that he had, in fact, forgotten he was holding.
"Just desperate, then." Kyra shrugged, walking past Coriolanus and nonchalantly calling out behind her, "Come on."
Coriolanus didn't appreciate being ordered around like a dog, but he also didn't like Kyra getting the last word. And his curiosity had been piqued.
YOU ARE READING
Odi Et Amo | CORIOLANUS SNOW
Romance[CORIOLANUS SNOW X FEM!OC] --- "I loathe her..." --- Coriolanus Snow wasn't cut out for love. He hated how it made him feel: jealous, vulnerable, out of control. If Lucy Gray Baird had taught him anything, it was that he could never let anyone into...
