Bound by passion

Chapter Three: Internal heartbeat

“Adrian,” I finally breathed his name, as if saying it out loud gave him more power over me than he already had.

His eyes flickered with satisfaction, sharp and piercing, like he’d been waiting for me to give him that piece of myself.

“Say it again,” he whispered.

I shook my head, stepping back into the safety of my apartment, but he followed, closing the distance as if the air between us belonged to him.

“Isabella,” he murmured, his voice deep and steady, “you don’t have to pretend with me. I can feel it. Every time you look at me, every time you try not to. The pull—it’s stronger than both of us.”

My chest rose and fell in sharp breaths. He was right. He was always right. From the moment we met, it was like gravity had shifted, forcing me into his orbit.

“I don’t want this,” I lied, my voice breaking even as my body betrayed me.

But Adrian’s smile was the kind that saw through every mask, every defense I tried to build. “You don’t want it… or you’re afraid of what it means?”

Silence. He had caught me again. And the truth was more terrifying than anything I could admit.

Because I wasn’t just afraid of him. I was afraid of myself—afraid of how badly I wanted to give in.

When his hand brushed mine, a spark shot straight through me. It wasn’t just chemistry. It wasn’t just desire. It was something deeper, something binding.

Adrian leaned closer, his lips hovering inches from mine. I could feel his breath, warm and dangerous.

“Bound by passion,” he whispered, his eyes locking with mine. “That’s what we are, Isabella. And no matter how far you try to run, you’ll always come back to me.”

My heart thundered in my chest, and in the fragile moment between sanity and surrender, I realized the truth. I was always his