Chapter 2: The Man With the Crimson Eyes
910 Words
Chapter 2: The Man With the Crimson Eyes
The office was unusually quiet that morning, the hum of machines and the occasional ringing of
Because desire could kill. And she'd learned that lesson too early.
No man could touch her. Not intimately. Not without losing their minds-or worse. And so, she wore plainness like armor.
phones acting as the only background noise. Celestine sat behind her desk, typing reports with practiced speed. Her glasses-deliberately thick, her bun perfectly messy, and her blouse a size too large-did the job of concealing the hourglass figure and impossible face she saw in the mirror each morning. Every inch of her disguise was intentional.
She was silent, focused, barely moving except to adjust her glasses as the elevator dinged behind her. Conversations hushed. Footsteps fell into unspoken rhythm.
Then came the voice of the admin assistant.
"Everyone, please welcome Mr. Kael Leonhart, the new regional CEO."
Kael entered like a shadow clothed in sunlight. Tall, sharp-suited, and devastatingly calm. His dark slacks hugged long legs that moved with deadly grace. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the throat, revealing just the edge of a mark-something ancient and faded-tattooed across his collarbone. His jawline was carved like stone, and his eyes... were not just dark. They were endless.
Celestine didn't lift her gaze at first. She didn't need to. The heat in the air told her enough.
But Kael looked directly at her.
Longer than necessary.
He read her nameplate.
"Ms. Celestine Navarro," he said under his breath. Not to her, but as if tasting her name.
Her fingers paused for only a fraction of a second.
Their eyes met.
Something in his expression flickered-recognition, curiosity, and something darker. Kael was briefed, of course. He'd read her profile before arriving. The one tagged Red-Flagged for Human Relations: smart, disciplined, antisocial, and... unnaturally avoided by the male staff. Whispers circulated about her being cursed, or worse, a woman with blood on her lips.
"Keep working, Navarro," Kael said, breaking the gaze. His voice was deep, clipped, unbothered-but it twisted at the base of her spine.
"Yes, sir," she said without flinching.
He passed, and the air that followed was colder.
He entered his office, door clicking shut behind him.
Celestine exhaled.
Hours passed. The work was dull but necessary. Her schedule was designed not to give her time to think, because thought could lead to drowsiness.
And if she slept-
She didn't allow herself to finish that idea.
Instead, she retreated to the data archives just before the lights dimmed for the evening. The silence was a comfort. She wrapped her arms around herself, head tilted slightly, the fluorescent light buzzing above her.
Her lashes began to flutter.
No.
Not now.
She bit her lip hard enough to taste blood. But it was too late. She was slipping.
The dream began with heat.
A breath on her neck.
"You kept me waiting again, my little flame."
Lucien's voice was velvet wrapped in sin.
She stood barefoot on obsidian marble, surrounded by a smoky dusk. In this world, she wore no disguise. Her true form shimmered: full curves, storm-touched eyes, and lips red as devoured fruit. A silken black dress clung to her like a lover.
Lucien's arm slid around her waist from behind.
"You're getting better at resisting me," he whispered against her ear. "But not good enough."
She shivered as his lips brushed the shell of her ear, then lower, toward the slope of her neck.
His fingers curled around her waist, sliding down with unholy patience.
"Lucien... stop," she breathed, but her voice trembled.
He chuckled. "You say that, but your body sings for me. You dream of me, even when you don't sleep."
He turned her slowly, and there he was-Lucien, the man who haunted her every night.
Tall, inhumanly beautiful. His silver hair cascaded past his shoulders, framing a face so exquisite it made her want to cry. Crimson eyes glowed like fire beneath ice. He was shirtless, every muscle etched with divine arrogance, every inch of him screaming forbidden.
He cupped her face, tilting it up. "You're mine. You always have been."
He lowered his head and kissed her.
It was fire.
Her knees buckled, her arms clenched around him. It was sinful, maddening, slow-his lips teasing hers open, his tongue dancing with hers in a dangerous waltz. She moaned softly into his mouth, trembling as the heat spread from her core to her limbs.
His fingers slid under the slit of her dress, brushing the softness of her thigh.
But just as he moved closer-just as his body pressed against hers-
She screamed.
"No!"
Her eyes flew open in the archive room, chest heaving, skin slick with sweat. Her heart thundered.
Another dream. Another escape.
Barely.
Elsewhere-far below the waking world-Lucien stood alone in his throne of ash and shadows.
"She left me again," he muttered, crimson eyes burning with fury. "She dares run?"
He clenched his fists until black lightning crackled across his arms.
"I will have her, even if I must tear reality apart."
He turned his gaze upward.
"And now... someone else has seen her."
The vision shimmered before him: a tall man with storm eyes standing in a glass office above the city.
Kael.
Lucien's lip curled. "Who are you... mortal or not?"
But one thing was certain.
He would not share her.
Not in this world. Not in dreams.
Not ever.
[End of Chapter 2]
- Writer
