CHAPTER…..FIVE
579 Words
CHAPTER FIVE
(Lina’s POV)
His bedroom was darker than the rest of the house.
Black curtains sealed the windows. A single lamp glowed on the bedside table, throwing shadows across the walls. The bed was large, untouched, perfectly made as if sleep rarely visited it.
Adrian closed the door behind us.
The sound echoed louder than it should have.
“You will sleep there,” he said, pointing to the far side of the bed.
I nodded and moved slowly, like I was afraid the room might break if I stepped too fast.
“You said you wouldn’t touch me,” I reminded him.
“I won’t,” he replied.
He loosened his cuffs and set his gun on the table before lying down fully clothed, staring at the ceiling.
I slipped beneath the sheets on my side, my back to him.
Silence stretched between us.
Not comfortable. Not peaceful. Alive.
I could feel his presence behind me, warm, controlled, dangerous.
“Why do you keep me?” I whispered.
“Because you don’t look at me like the others,” he said.
“How do they look at you?”
“Like I’m a storm.”
“And me?”
“Like I’m still a man.”
The words settled inside my chest.
We lay there without touching.
Minutes passed. Maybe hours.
“You’re not afraid anymore,” he said.
“I am,” I answered. “Just… differently.”
He turned slightly, enough for me to feel his breath against my hair.
“You shouldn’t get close to me,” he murmured.
“I don’t know how not to,” I said.
It was true. And it wasn’t.
“You’ll regret it,” he warned.
“I already regret things,” I whispered. “At least this one would be beautiful.”
Silence.
Then his voice, quieter: “You don’t belong in my world.”
“I know,” I said. “But you brought me here anyway.”
I turned slowly to face him.
Our eyes met in the dark.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
That was my opening.
My heart raced as I moved closer, slowly, giving him time to stop me.
He didn’t.
My fingers brushed his chest.
Still. Warm.Real.
“Lina,” he said, voice low. “Don’t.”
“Why?”
“Because once you do… I won’t let you go.”
“I won’t ask you to.”
I leaned in.
The kiss was soft.
Not hungry. Not rushed.
Just a quiet collision of two dangerous things.
He froze.
Then his hand lifted to my jaw.
Not pulling me closer.
Not pushing me away.
Holding me in place.
Our lips parted.
His breath shook.
“You shouldn’t,” he said.
“I know.”
But I kissed him again.
Longer this time.
He broke away first, pressing his forehead onto mine.
“This is a mistake,” he said.
“I make those a lot,” I whispered.
His hand dropped from my face.
“Sleep,” he said hoarsely. “Before I forget who I am.”
I turned back to my side of the bed, heart pounding.
Behind me, he didn’t move.
He didn’t touch me.
But I felt him watching me until my breathing slowed.
Until sleep finally took me.
And in the dark, the man I was meant to destroy stayed awake…
Because for the first time in years,
He wanted something he shouldn’t have.
- Writer
