Skin to skin

Chapter 002

Chapter 002: The Morning After

Beauty woke up to the sound of steady rain tapping against the glass, the harsh morning light filtering through the cracks of Julian’s heavy curtains. For a brief second, she forgot where she was. Then she shifted, and the friction of the crisp linen sheets against her bare skin brought the memories of the night crashing back.

She turned her head. The space beside her was empty, though the indentation in the pillow and the lingering scent of cedar and rain proved it hadn't been a dream.

Taking a deep breath, Beauty sat up, pulling the duvet tightly around her chest. Her mind raced as she tried to reconcile the intense, uninhibited passion of the night before with the reality of what this meant for her life. This wasn't just a random encounter. Julian wasn't a stranger.

"You're awake," a quiet voice said from the doorway.

Julian stood there, already fully dressed in a crisp white button-down shirt and tailored trousers. The contrast was jarring; the man who had held her so desperately hours ago was gone, replaced by the cool, collected professional the rest of the world knew. He held two cups of coffee, stepping into the room with a cautious, unreadable expression.

He handed her a cup, his fingers brushing against hers. That brief, skin-to-skin touch sent a familiar jolt straight through her, but his eyes remained guarded.

"We need to talk about yesterday," Julian said softly, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "And what happens when we walk out of this apartment today."

Beauty took a sip of the bitter coffee, bracing herself. "Nothing changes, Julian. We knew the risks before this happened."

Julian stared at her for a long moment, the quiet between them stretching out until the ticking of the bedside clock felt incredibly loud. He looked down at his coffee cup, his jaw tightening slightly before he looked back up to meet her eyes.

"Nothing changes," he repeated, testing the words as if he didn't quite believe them. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "That sounds good in theory, Beauty. But out there, the board is watching my every move. And your firm is looking for any reason to disqualify us. If anyone saw you leave this building this morning—"

"No one saw me," Beauty interrupted softly, though a sudden knot of anxiety tightened in her stomach. She set her cup down on the nightstand, keeping the duvet pulled securely around herself. "I was careful last night, Julian. I’ll use the private elevator to the garage. We are professional rivals during the day. That is the agreement."

Julian let out a short, humorless breath. He stood up, pacing over to the window and looking out at the rain-soaked city skyline. The sharp silhouette of his suit made him look exactly like the ruthless CEO the media loved to write about.

"It’s not just the external risk, Beauty," he said, his voice dropping to a lower, rougher register. He turned around to face her, his gaze intense. "Look at me. Do you honestly think I can sit across from you in a boardroom meeting at two o'clock today and pretend I don't know exactly what you look like under these sheets? Pretend I didn't hold you like my life depended on it?"

Beauty swallowed hard. Her first instinct was to get defensive—to protect herself by acting completely unbothered. She opened her mouth to tell him it was just a physical release, a one-time slip. But looking at the raw honesty in his eyes, the lie died in her throat.

"I'm not pretending it's easy," she confessed quietly, her voice trembling just a fraction. "But we don't have a choice. This project is everything I’ve worked for. I won't lose it."

Julian walked back over to the bed. He didn't say a word as he sat down beside her again. He reached out, his hand sliding behind her neck, his thumb tracing the warm skin of her jawline. The contrast of his cool, starched dress shirt against her bare shoulder was electric. He pulled her forward gently, his forehead resting against hers.

"One mistake, Beauty. That's all it takes to ruin us both," he whispered against her lips.

Instead of pulling away, Julian leaned in and kissed her. It wasn't the frantic, desperate kiss from the night before; it was slow, deep, and heavy with a quiet warning. It was a goodbye kiss that felt entirely too much like a promise.

When he finally broke the kiss, he stood up without a word, adjusted his cuffs, and walked out of the room, leaving Beauty alone in the quiet apartment to get dressed for the battle waiting outside.

to finalize the contracts," the board chairman announced, standing up and breaking the tension.

The room erupted into the chatter of packing laptops and shuffling papers. Beauty closed her screen, her heart finally slowing down to a normal rhythm. She had done it. They had survived the first test.

As the room cleared, Beauty purposely lingered behind to organize her files, waiting for the crowd to thin out so she could make a clean exit. She thought she was the last one left until the shadow of a tall figure blocked the light from the doorway.

Julian stepped back inside the boardroom, quietly clicking the heavy door shut behind him.

The heavy click of the boardroom door closing sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room.

Beauty didn't look up immediately. She kept her focus on sliding her tablet into her leather briefcase, but her fingers were rigid. Julian’s shadow stretched across the mahogany table until he stopped just inches away from her side.

"You were brilliant today," Julian said, his voice dropping into that low, rough register he only used when they were alone. The corporate mask was gone, replaced by a sudden, heavy exhaustion. "But it doesn't change anything, Beauty. If anything, today proved how impossible this is."

Beauty finally looked up, her spine straight. "What are you talking about? We handled it perfectly. No one in that room suspected a thing."

"Because we were on display," Julian said, running a hand through his dark hair, disrupting the perfect neatness from the meeting. He looked at her, his eyes dark with a pain that made her chest tighten. "But the board is squeezing me, Beauty. Harder than I let on."

He stepped closer, the familiar scent of cedar and rain wrapping around her again, but this time it brought a sudden chill.

"The capital for this project isn't secure," Julian confessed quietly, his jaw tight. "The board made their terms clear to me right before we walked into this room. They are pulling the funding unless I secure an alliance with the Sterling Group."

Beauty felt the blood drain from her face. The Sterling Group was a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate, run by one of the oldest, most powerful families in the city. "An alliance? You mean a corporate merger?"

"I mean a marriage, Beauty," Julian said, the words falling between them like lead. "To Sarah Sterling."

The room seemed to tilt. Sarah Sterling was a regular fixture in the high-society columns—wealthy, incredibly well-connected, and the exact kind of high-profile asset Julian’s board wanted at his side to guarantee the company's future.

"Sarah," Beauty repeated, her voice barely a whisper. The memory of Julian's hands on her skin from last night suddenly felt like a cruel joke. "So... last night was just a goodbye?"

"No," Julian said fiercely, stepping forward to grab her upper arms. His grip was tight, desperate. "Last night was real. It’s the only real thing I’ve felt in months. But I have thousands of employees relying on this company. My family’s legacy is tied to this project. If I don't go through with this, the board ruins me, they pull the funding, and your firm gets disqualified anyway. We both lose everything."

Beauty looked at his hands on her arms, then up at his face. The ruthless CEO was back, making a tactical decision, but the agony in his eyes was undeniable.

"So you're choosing the money," she said, her voice turning dangerously calm as she forced her emotions down into a cold, dark place inside her. "You're choosing her."

"I'm choosing survival," Julian whispered, his forehead dropping down to rest against hers for one final, devastating second. "I have to leave you, Beauty. For the sake of the work. For both of our futures."

Before she could break down, Julian pulled back, let go of her arms, and walked out of the boardroom without looking back.

Two Weeks Later

The charity gala was deafening. The grand ballroom of the Plaza Hotel was filled with the clinking of crystal glasses, the drone of a live string quartet, and the fake laughter of the city's elite.

Beauty stood near the edge of the room, holding a glass of champagne she hadn't touched. She wore a stunning, emerald-green silk dress that draped perfectly over her frame, her hair styled in a flawless updo. She looked powerful, elegant, and completely unbothered.

But her eyes were locked on the center of the room.

Julian stood under the massive crystal chandelier. He looked devastatingly handsome in a tailored black tuxedo, but he wasn't alone. Clinging tightly to his arm was Sarah Sterling. Sarah was radiant in a shimmering white diamond-encrusted gown, her laughter loud and confident as she leaned into Julian's side, whispering something in his ear.

Julian smiled down at Sarah, nodding at whatever she said, playing the part of the devoted partner flawlessly. To the rest of the world, they were the ultimate power couple.

Beauty swallowed the lump in her throat and took a sharp sip of her champagne. The pain was an physical ache in her ribs, but she refused to let a single tear fall. They had a contract to finish, a project to build, and she would be damned if she let Julian Vance see her break.

Suddenly, across the crowded, glittering room, Julian’s eyes shifted. He looked past the photographers, past the board members, and locked his gaze directly onto Beauty. His smile vanished.