Bound By Contract, Claimed By Fate

Almost Mine

KATHERINE

"He was never mine to want... But that didn't stop me from wanting him."

“Whoa—I mean, yes. It’s… impressive,” I stammered, my voice shaky as I tried to glue my gaze anywhere but his body. My heart raced, my throat went dry.

He tilted his head, studying me with that infuriating calmness. “You seem… unsettled. What’s the matter?” His tone carried a hint of mockery, like he wasn’t fully surprised.

I swallowed hard, forcing my eyes upward, though they kept betraying me, drifting lower to where he stood utterly bare in front of me. My breath hitched.

“Oh, forgive my manners,” he said finally, reaching for a towel to wrap around his hips. His voice dropped lower, smoother. “I didn’t think you’d be bothered—considering you hate me.”

The deliberate way he said it, slow and measured, made my stomach twist. He always knew how to tilt the power, how to make me lose control without even trying.

“I don’t have much time, Dominic. Why did you call me here?” I snapped, forcing my voice to stay sharp, clinging to whatever confidence I had left. I couldn’t let him keep unravelling me—making me nervous, making me lose control.

“Relax, tiger,” he murmured, his voice low and teasing as he took a slow, deliberate step toward me. His eyes locked onto mine, unblinking, as if he could see right through me.

My breath quickened against my will. I hated how my body reacted to him—how every step he took closer made my chest rise and fall faster, how the air seemed hotter between us. This wasn’t what I felt with Adrian. No… this was different. Dangerous. Fiery. Consuming.

When he leaned in, my heart nearly gave out. His face was so close, his lips hovering like a promise I didn’t know if I wanted him to keep or break. My eyes fluttered shut, bracing for the inevitable kiss…

And then—

His hand reached past me.

The faint scrape of glass against wood filled the silence. He straightened, holding a jar of cream from the table, smirking like the devil himself.

A laugh slipped from his lips, rich and mocking.

Heat scorched my cheeks. Embarrassment rushed through me so strongly that I almost wished the floor would open and swallow me whole.

“Son of a b***h,” I muttered under my breath, though the pounding of my heart betrayed just how shaken I really was.

“What?” he asked, his brows lifting slightly, as if he’d actually heard my muttered curse.

“Nothing,” I shot back quickly, rolling my eyes in defence. The sudden heat I’d felt toward him just moments ago twisted into irritation, into something sharper, uglier. That was exactly how Dominic always made me feel—pulled in, then pushed away. Wanting him one second, hating him the next.

He didn’t even glance at me again. He just went about whatever he was doing, deliberately ignoring me, like my presence was nothing more than air in the room. The indifference burned worse than his arrogance. My chest tightened with anger, humiliation creeping into every corner of me until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“You know what?” I snapped, my voice shaking with rage. “Coming here was a mistake.”

I spun around, heading for the door, desperate to get away from him and from this suffocating, confusing pull. My fingers brushed the cold metal of the knob—

And then his hand was there. Strong. Firm. Pressing over mine, forcing the door shut again with a heavy thud.

My breath caught.

Before I could react, he turned me and pinned me gently—but undeniably—against the door. His body was close, too close, and when I lifted my gaze, the Dominic I was used to—the cold, arrogant, infuriating man—was gone.

In his place was someone else.

A man whose stormy eyes burned with hunger, with something primal and unrestrained. A man who looked at me not like I was his wife in name, not like I was an inconvenience, but like I was prey… and he was ready to devour me.

“Can I?” he asked, his voice low—rough, almost hesitant.

For a moment, I didn’t even know what he was asking for. His eyes searched mine, and before I could find an answer, his lips were already on mine.

The kiss wasn’t gentle—it was hungry, desperate, claiming every breath I had left. My heart pounded as his hands found my waist, and before I realised it, I was lifted effortlessly, weightless in his arms.

I hated how right it felt.

Every ounce of anger I’d held onto melted into that one moment—the warmth of his touch, the taste of him, the way the world seemed to disappear.

When he set me down against the edge of the table, his gaze lingered on me, tracing every inch of my face as if he was memorising it. Then, with deliberate slowness, he reached and loosened my ponytail, letting my hair tumble over my shoulders.

“I like you better like this,” he murmured, his voice deep and husky, his words brushing against my skin like a caress.

I swallowed hard, my breath coming in uneven waves. His touch lingered, his fingers grazing the line of my jaw before stopping just beneath my lips. The simple motion was enough to make my pulse quicken.

God help me, my thighs were clenched already.

“Dominic…” I whispered, not sure if it was a plea or a warning.

His eyes locked on mine, dark and unreadable. I held his hand, wanting to control but then “I’m more of a pleaser, Katherine,” he said quietly, his tone holding a dangerous promise. “And I like to be in control.”

Something inside me snapped—part defiance, part surrender.

“Then stop making me wait,” I said, my voice trembling but bold.

The air between us thickened. His breath mingled with mine, and for a heartbeat, the world stopped—balanced on the edge of something neither of us could take back.

Dominic leaned in, his lips hovering just inches from mine. My heart pounded so hard I could almost hear it echo in the silence. The space between us crackled, every inch of air charged with something dangerous… something forbidden.

Then—

A knock shattered the moment.

He froze, his jaw tightening in frustration. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered under his breath, stepping back. The loss of his warmth hit me harder than I expected.

He straightened, running a hand through his hair before pulling the door open.

And there she was.

Bianca.

The last person I wanted to see standing in his doorway.

“Dominic,” she said sweetly, her voice sliding through the room like honey laced with venom.

I felt my heart stutter painfully in my chest. I didn’t even understand why. I wasn’t supposed to care. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way.

But as she smiled at him like she belonged there, something inside me twisted—sharp and unwelcome.

I hated that it hurt.

I hated that I cared.

And worst of all, I hated that for a fleeting moment… I wished the knock had never come.