CHAPTER 6. CROSSING LINES
752 Words
Alessandro didn’t plan to follow her.
That was the lie he told himself.
He just… ended up outside the building when she left.
Coincidence.
That’s what he called it.
Even though he knew better.
Elena stepped out into the night, adjusting her bag strap, walking fast like she wanted distance from the entire day.
From him.
That part stung more than it should’ve.
He lit a cigarette.
Watched her.
Didn’t move.
Until someone else did.
A black car pulled up too close to her.
Too smooth.
Too confident.
The same man from earlier stepped out.
Smiling.
“Thought I’d catch you before you disappeared,” he said.
Elena stopped walking.
Her body went still—but not afraid.
Just… alert.
“I already said no,” she replied.
He shrugged. “People change their minds.”
“That’s not how I work.”
The man chuckled, stepping closer anyway.
And that—
That was when Alessandro moved.
Fast.
He crossed the street in seconds.
Grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him against the car.
Hard.
“What the hell did you just do?” the man barked.
Alessandro didn’t raise his voice.
That was worse.
“You don’t walk up on what’s mine,” he said quietly.
A beat of silence.
Elena froze.
“What?” she said sharply. “I’m not—”
But Alessandro didn’t look at her.
Not yet.
His grip tightened.
“I said get in your car,” he told the man.
Or I’ll break every bone in your damn body.
The man scoffed, trying to push him off.
Bad idea.
Alessandro slammed him again.
“Try me,” he said.
Low.
Cold.
Deadly calm.
The man backed off instantly, coughing.
Then he left.
Quick.
Silence hit.
Heavy.
Wrong.
Elena turned fully now.
“What the hell was that?” she snapped.
Alessandro finally looked at her.
Eyes dark.
Uncontrolled.
“You shouldn’t be alone out here.”
“That’s not your decision.”
“It is when someone thinks they can corner you.”
She took a step forward.
“You don’t get to call me yours.”
That word.
Yours.
It landed wrong.
Too deep.
Too fast.
Alessandro exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t say that,” he muttered.
“But you acted like it.”
Silence.
The space between them shrank without either of them moving.
Just tension pulling them closer.
Like gravity.
Elena’s voice dropped slightly.
“You followed me.”
“No.”
“Yes,” she said.
He didn’t deny it again.
That was answer enough.
“Why?” she asked quietly.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then—
“I don’t know.”
Honest.
Dangerous.
Wrong.
That did something to her expression.
Something small.
Vulnerable.
A crack.
And he saw it.
And he stepped closer.
Too close again.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said quietly.
“Like what?”
“Like you think I’m the problem.”
A pause.
Then she whispered—
“Aren’t you?”
That snapped something.
Not anger.
Something worse.
He grabbed her wrist.
Not hard enough to hurt.
But enough to stop her.
Enough to make her breath catch.
“Don’t,” he said low.
“Don’t what?” she asked, voice shaking just slightly now.
“Push me when I’m already trying not to cross lines.”
Silence.
Their faces were too close now.
Too close for control.
Too close for sense.
Her pulse was visible at her throat.
And he saw it.
And it messed with him.
Badly.
“You’re out of control,” she whispered.
A humorless laugh left him.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “Around you? Apparently.”
That honesty hung there.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
For a second—
He leaned in.
Just slightly.
Almost nothing.
But enough.
Enough for her breath to stop.
Enough for everything to freeze.
Then—
He stopped.
Jaw tightening like it physically hurt him to do it.
And stepped back.
Hard.
Like ripping himself away.
“Go home,” he said roughly. “Before I do something I’ll regret.”
Elena didn’t move.
Still processing.
Still shaken.
Then softly—
“Too late.”
And walked away.
Alessandro stood there long after she disappeared into the night.
Knuckles clenched.
Breathing uneven.
Because now it wasn’t just attraction.
It wasn’t just obsession.
It was restraint breaking.
And he knew—
If he touched her again…
He wouldn’t stop at “almost.”
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