CHAPTER 08— A Touch Too Close
1126 Words
(Kaela)
Kaela wakes up late the next morning.
Or rather… she gives up on trying to sleep sometime around dawn and somehow drifts into an exhausted half-sleep. When she finally opens her eyes, light is spilling into her room, warm and soft.
Her first thought is—
Vionn.
His breath.
His lips.
His hands.
She sits upright so fast she gets dizzy.
“No. No. No,” she mutters, dragging her fingers through her messy hair.
“Today I will NOT think about him. I refuse.”
Her heart doesn’t care.
Her body doesn’t care.
Her stupid brain absolutely doesn’t care.
She gets dressed slower than usual, picking a soft cream-colored blouse and a long flowing skirt. Something comfortable. Normal. Safe.
But as she looks in the mirror… she can’t ignore it.
Her cheeks have a soft flush.
Her eyes seem brighter.
She looks like someone who had a dream she won’t admit.
She groans and covers her face.
“Get a grip, Kaela.”
She opens her door—
—and nearly screams.
Because Vionn is standing right there in the hallway.
Back against the wall.
Arms crossed.
Eyes already fixed on her.
Like he’s been waiting.
Her breath catches painfully.
He looks tired.
Not messy, not unkempt—Vionn could look like a CEO even after a hurricane—but definitely tired.
A faint shadow under his eyes.
A stiffness in his posture.
He didn’t sleep either.
Their eyes meet, and something hot and dangerous flickers between them.
Kaela breaks it first, looking away fast.
“I—why are you standing here?” she asks, trying to walk past him.
Vionn moves.
Not to block her path.
Just… closer.
Not touching her, but close enough to make the air thick.
“I wanted to speak with you,” he says quietly.
His voice is rough.
Morning-rough.
The kind that slides down her spine and messes with her thoughts.
She swallows hard.
“About last night?”
His jaw tightens.
“Yes.”
Her stomach flips.
She takes a tiny step back.
He takes a tiny step forward.
They’re caught again in that invisible pull, the one she pretends isn’t there.
Vionn exhales slowly before speaking.
“Kaela… I shouldn’t have—”
She lifts a hand instinctively, stopping him.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
His brows furrow.
“Why?”
Because thinking about it makes her heart pound.
Because remembering it makes her knees weak.
Because another second of that closeness and she might actually—
She shakes her head.
Just then, her foot slips on the polished floor—
she jolts forward—
and Vionn reacts on instinct.
His hands catch her waist.
Pulling her against him.
Holding her flush to his chest.
The world stops.
Kaela’s breath leaves her in a small, broken gasp.
Her palms land on his chest, right over his heartbeat—
fast, strong, uneven.
Vionn’s grip on her tightens faintly.
“Careful,” he murmurs.
That ONE word vibrates against her skin.
She looks up—
big doe eyes meeting cold ice-blue—
Except his eyes aren’t cold.
Not even a little.
They’re burning.
He realizes he’s still holding her—
but he doesn’t let go.
Not immediately.
Time stretches between them, thin and trembling.
Kaela whispers, “You—can let go now.”
His thumb brushes her waist without meaning to.
“No,” he says quietly.
“Not yet.”
Her breath stutters.
His voice drops even lower.
“You really think I can, after last night?”
The hallway goes silent.
Her heart slams against her ribs.
“Vionn…”
He leans in—
not kissing her—
just close enough for her to feel his breath on her cheek.
Close enough for the world to tilt.
“We need to talk,” he says softly.
“But not here.”
Before she can reply, a voice cuts in.
“Vionn?”
Lucas.
Of all people.
Vionn steps away quickly, hands leaving her waist, face going back to its cold, unreadable mask—
but his eyes linger on her for a fraction of a second too long.
Lucas looks between them, eyebrows raised with thinly veiled amusement.
“Oh? Morning, Kaela.
Long night?”
Kaela’s face turns bright red.
Vionn’s jaw flexes like he wants to punch his brother through the wall.
Lucas smirks.
“Father wants you in the study. Urgently.”
Vionn doesn’t move at first.
His gaze stays on Kaela.
“We’re not done talking,” he says lowly.
Her pulse stutters.
Then he walks away, every step sharp and controlled, leaving her alone with a heart that won’t slow down.
---
(Kaela)
She forces herself toward the grand staircase.
Her knees feel weak.
Her palms still warm from where they touched his chest.
She whispers to herself:
“That was nothing. Just an accident. Nothing…”
But her body remembers too vividly.
His hands.
His voice.
His breath.
And deep in her chest, something terrifying flutters—
Want.
---
(Vionn)
Vionn enters the study, but he barely hears anything Marcus is saying.
He’s replaying that moment in the hallway.
The way her body fit against his.
The way she looked up at him with wide, breathless eyes.
The way his hand refused to let her go.
He had almost kissed her again.
God help him—
he wanted to.
And the worst part?
She didn’t push him away.
Vionn curls his fingers, forcing his expression to stay cold.
He’s losing control.
Piece by piece.
Marcus is talking, Lucas is smirking, someone hands Vionn a file—
And all he can think about is Kaela’s soft gasp when he caught her.
Her scent.
The warmth of her skin.
The fact that her lips were inches from his.
He’s going to break every rule he set.
He knows it.
And he doesn’t care anymore.
---
(Kaela)
She tries to escape to the garden for some air—
but ends up running into Sophia.
“Kaelaaa,” Sophia hums with a fake-sweet smile.
“You look… flushed.”
Kaela nearly groans.
“Oh. Um. It’s warm.”
Sophia circles her like a cat.
“Or maybe Vionn finally decided to treat you like an actual wife.”
Kaela almost chokes.
Sophia smirks proudly.
“Don’t worry. It was only a matter of time.”
Kaela’s cheeks flame even harder.
And then, whispering close to her ear:
“You’re affecting him.”
Kaela freezes.
Sophia giggles.
“I haven’t seen him this tense since… ever.”
Kaela stares at her.
Sophia shrugs elegantly.
“He either wants to kill someone, or he can’t stop thinking about you.”
Kaela swallows hard.
She doesn’t know which one scares her more.
- Writer
