Chapter 14
1701 Words
DANIELLA POV
The moment Rider left that night, the apartment felt too quiet. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and I was already missing his presence.
I stood by the door long after it shut, my fingers lightly brushing the wood where he had been seconds ago.
His unfinished sentence wouldn’t stop replaying in my mind.
He had looked so sure and very certain. Like whatever he was about to say wasn’t casual, neither was it a light statement. It sounded like something deliberate, and something hat mattered to him.
But then he stopped. Not because he didn’t know what he wanted to say, but because something in him had shifted.
I walked back to my room slowly, my heart still unsettled. I changed into pajamas, climbed into bed, and stared at the ceiling.
If he was serious, why didn’t he finish?
Was he scared?
Was he protecting himself? Or was he protecting me?
I turned to the side, hugging my pillow.
For weeks, we had been having a complex relationship going on. Something neither of us fully named. The tension had softened into something deeper. Something steady. Something that felt dangerously close to permanent.
He showed up for me every day.
In little ways.
And now, he was standing at the edge of something bigger.
And so was I.
Lilian didn’t come home that night.
Of all nights for this b***h not to come home, she decided to pick the night I was going out with Rider.
I could have used her dramatic gasps and unnecessary advice. I could have used someone to scream into a pillow with.
Instead, I was alone with my thoughts. And my thoughts were reckless, eating me up from inside.
The next morning, I chose my outfit with more care than I wanted to admit.
I told myself it was just because we had meetings.
Not because I wanted him to look at me, not because I remembered the way his eyes darkened when he touched my waist.
I picked a soft cream blouse that dipped just slightly at the neckline and paired it with a fitted skirt. Nothing inappropriate. Just flattering.
I caught my reflection before leaving. My cleavage was half revealing, half not revealing.
“You’re overthinking,” I muttered to myself.
But I didn’t bother changing.
When I got to the office, Taylor noticed my mood immediately.
He always did.
“You look intentional today,” he said, leaning against his desk.
I rolled my eyes. “Good morning to you too.”
“You didn’t sleep.”
I froze slightly. “How do you know that?”
“Because your face is thinking too loudly.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about Taylor.”
“Spill the beans Daniella”
I sighed and leaned closer. “We went out last night.”
His eyes widened. “Official?”
“Not labeled.”
“So unofficially official.”
“He almost said something.”
Taylor straightened instantly. “Almost?”
“He said he doesn’t do things halfway. That he doesn’t let people into his space unless he’s serious.”
Taylor blinked slowly.
“Oh.”
“That’s it?” I demanded.
“That’s not small, Daniella.”
“He didn’t finish.”
Taylor studied me for a moment, and for once, he didn’t tease.
“Be patient,” he said quietly. “Rider doesn’t move unless he’s certain. If he’s thinking, it’s because it matters.”
That didn’t calm me.
It made everything feel heavier.
Because if it mattered to him, it mattered to me too.
The entire morning dragged on. Time seemed to go by fast.
Every time I heard footsteps outside my desk, my heart reacted.
Every time my phone buzzed, I checked it too quickly, hoping it was Rider that texted.
“f**k Daniella, what’s happening to you. Aunty Lilly didn’t raise you up like this.” I said to myself, sighing. Speaking of aunt Lily, I made a mental note to call aunt Lily later this week.
When his name finally flashed on my screen, my heart raced.
“Come to my office.”
The message was very short and direct. It didn't have any emotion to it, but my stomach flipped anyway.
I stood, smoothing my skirt unconsciously, and walked down the hallway.
When I entered his office, he was standing by the window, hands clasped behind his back.
He turned the moment I stepped in.
And his eyes didn’t leave me.
Not once.
His gaze moved slowly. From my face, down and lower, stopping on my cleavage.
His eyes turned a very dark shade of black. Extremely inhuman, but it didn’t take seconds for it to come back to it’s normal color.
That was when it hit me.
The blouse. Heat flooded my cheeks.
He didn’t speak for a few seconds, rather he just watched me.
“Close the door,” he said quietly.
I obeyed before I could think.
The click of the door shutting felt louder than usual.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, pretending innocence.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Did you wear that on purpose?”
I blinked. “What?”
“That blouse.”
My lips twitched. “It’s just a blouse.”
“It’s distracting me and I’m sure you knew that before putting it on.”
I laughed softly. “You think I dress for you?”
His eyes darkened, but there was no anger there.
“Answer me.”
“No,” I said honestly. “I wore it because I like it.”
His gaze dropped again. Slow and unapologetic. He didn’t even mind that I knew he was checking me out.
Without breaking eye contact, he reached for the remote on his desk, and with a click the blinds behind me slid shut smoothly.
My breath caught.
“Rider…”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he walked around the desk. Each step measured and controlled .
But his eyes were anything but calm.
He stopped directly in front of me.
“Come here,” he murmured.
My body responded before my brain could argue.
I stepped closer. Close enough to feel the heat radiating from him.
His hand lifted slowly, brushing the fabric at my waist.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he said quietly.
My throat went dry.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“That’s the problem.”
His fingers curled around my hands, and suddenly he pulled me forward, and before I could fully register what was happening, I was sitting on his lap.
The movement was quick, like he had thought about it before.
I gasped softly, instinctively gripping his shoulders to steady myself.
His hands settled firmly on my hips.
My heart was racing so loudly I was sure he could feel it.
His forehead dipped close to mine.
“This,” he said softly, fingers tightening slightly against my waist, “is what you do to me.”
I felt his hard on below me, and I couldn’t control my breathing again
His voice dropped lower.
“I try to stay composed around you, and also very professional to avoid rumors going around .”
His thumb brushed slowly along my side.
“And then you walk in looking like that.”
Heat rushed to my face.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“I know,” he interrupted gently.
That was the part that made it worse.
Because he knew.
And it still affected him.
His hands slid slightly up my back, not crossing any boundaries, but close enough to make every nerve in my body awaken.
“You don’t understand how hard it is,” he said quietly.
“For what?” I whispered.
“To stay away from you.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
My fingers curled tighter into his shirt.
“Then don’t,” I breathed before I could stop myself.
His eyes snapped to mine.
Something shifted in his mood, his hand moved to the back of my head, fingers threading lightly into my hair.
He kissed me. It wasn’t screaming hunger, but it was something else. The kiss was deep, slow and very intentional, like he was claiming something without saying it out loud.
My hands slid up his shoulders instinctively, and I felt his grip tighten at my waist.
The world narrowed. I was in another world, where only two of us existed and I wasn’t planning on leaving there.
His breath tasted like soft mint, His hands were sexy. His veins protruding, looking sexy as ever.
Fuck veiny hands has always been my weakness.
For a moment, nothing else existed.
Until…The door opened.
“Oh wow.”
My entire body froze.
Rider stiffened beneath me instantly.
Taylor stood at the doorway, one eyebrow raised, the most satisfied grin I had ever seen on his face.
I scrambled off Rider’s lap so fast I nearly lost my balance.
My face burned.
“I—”
Taylor held up his hands dramatically. “Don’t mind me. I clearly interrupted something very professional.”
“Taylor,” Rider said sharply.
But Taylor was enjoying this too much.
“Should I come back in ten minutes? Or is this a staff bonding exercise?”
I wanted the ground to open and swallow me.
“I was just— we were just—” I couldn’t even form a sentence.
Taylor leaned casually against the doorframe. “Relax. I didn’t see anything.”
He paused.
“Well, I saw enough.”
I shot him a glare that could have burned through steel.
Rider stood, adjusting his jacket calmly, though his jaw was tight.
“You should knock,” he said evenly.
“Oh I will from now on,” Taylor replied cheerfully. “Very educational experience.”
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I have work to do,” I muttered quickly, brushing past Taylor and walking straight down the hallway without looking back.
My heart was still racing, and my lips tingled.
My entire body still remembered sitting on his lap.
And now, Taylor knew.
Which meant the teasing had only just begun.
.
- Writer
