The Ghost Protocol

Chapter 3-The Chemistry Of A lie

Vincent felt a cold sweat break across the back of his neck the exact second his smartwatch buzzed

Through the faint,glowing text on the screen ,he could see isabelle's name flashing."The hotel room is already under your name...."Damm he thought his chest tightening .He didn't look up,but he could feel Harper's sharp eyes tracking the movementof his wrist.He qucikly swiped the screen clear and shoved his hands deep into his pockets trying to force his heartrate back down to normal .

Isabelle was becoming a liabilty. She was stunning ,sure, but she was a bottomless pit of high maintenance drama and financial demands .He had deliberately ignored three of her phone calls putting his phone on silent beacuse he was done funding thr glamorous front she put on , vincent wasn't looking to rescue anyone and he certainly wasn't about to pay for a girl's lifestyle just to be another name on her roster. He didn't want a commitment .Commitment meant expectations,accountability and answering to someone else .What Vincent wanted was simple ,uncomplicated lust and right now ,looking at the girl standing in fromt of him ,he wanted Harper.

Harper was unique, she had this quiet grounded dignity that drove him crazy because he couldnt easilt bend it to his ego.But looking at her standing by her kitchen counter, her jaw set and her arms crossed protectively over her chest, he knew he had to pivot the narrative fast before she threw him out of her room entirely.

'look at me, harper " Vincent said softening his voice into the smooth persuasive baritone he usally reserved for mock competitions he stepped forward closing the heavy silence between them until he was standing so close to her in her personal space.He could smell her perfume somthing sweet ,warm and distincly her and it sent a sharp jolt of desire through him .He reched ou

t ,his fingers hesitant butdeliberate as they brushed againsted her forearm .Harper didn't pull away he felt the slight tremoe in her skin .

'I know i have been MIA since last Firday',he murmured,stepping even closer until the tips of his shoes were almost touching hers. He looked down into her eyes making sure his expression held nothing but sincerity"Law school has been alot this week and honsetly ? i was over whelmed. When i'm stressed ,i ahut down ,i pull away from the people i really care about because i don't want to bring my chaos into thier space . Manupulation was an art form ,and vincnet knew exactly how to play the game by blaming his lawschedule and actinglike his absence was a twsited way of protecting her from his stress ,he was sucesfully shifting the blame from his own emotional laziness onto his academic burnout.

'I dont want a fling with you ," he lied smoothly ,his voice dropping in to a desparte quiet whisper.

He let his hand slide gently up her arm,his palm warm against her bare skin ,tracing the soft line of her shoulder before resting gentlyat the side of her neck ,his thumb brushed over her jawline ,feelingthe rapid erratic thudof her pluse beneath his touch . The physical chemistry between them was undeniable,an electric wave that made the redt of the room fade .Vincent leaned in, his gaze dropping to her lips. He could feel the sudden, shaky hitch in her breath, her chest rising and falling against his. He didn't want a relationship ,but he wanted Harper to be consumed by him,he wanted to drown out her doubt and worries with pure sensation. If he could get heri nto bed the boundaries she kept talking about on text would dissolve. He'd have exactly what he wanted intimacy entirely on his own terms with zero strings attached.

Vincent tilited her face up slightly ,his lips brushing against hers,teasing thr edge of her mouth until she leaned into the touch.The intimacy was thich, heavy and hot. His hand slid down to her back pushing her against him ,closing every sapce between them until he could feel her skin . Harper let out a conflicted breath against his mouth ,her eyes closing as the warmth of the moment took over but just as vincent leaned down to deeply seal the kiss and take her to her bed room her hands suddenly flattened against his chest ,pushing him back with a frim unexpected strenght , Harper lookes at the clock near her bed ,it read 8;42AM .Her advanced literature class started in exactly eighteen minutes , she gasped," Vincent stop !!! you have to leave right now "