Chapter 4
950 Words
Chapter 4: The Temptation
The next day was a blur of distractions.
No matter how hard Feliz tried to focus on her work, she couldn’t shake the memory of Sly’s breath against her ear, the intensity in his gaze, the way his presence had wrapped around her like smoke—unseen but impossible to escape.
She shouldn’t be thinking about it.
She wouldn’t let herself think about it.
But the truth was, he was there, always. Lingering in the edges of her mind, pushing against the walls she had spent years carefully building around herself.
And worse?
Some reckless, traitorous part of her wondered what would happen if she let them crumble.
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Later that afternoon…
Feliz was heading toward the elevator, exhaustion settling deep in her bones after a long day of meetings.
And then—she felt it.
That unmistakable presence.
Sly.
She didn’t need to turn around to know it was him. His footsteps were slow, deliberate, calculated—like he knew exactly how to keep her on edge.
The elevator doors slid open. She stepped inside, pressed the button for her floor, and told herself to breathe.
But then he followed her in.
And just like that, the air grew thick.
Feliz felt him before she even looked—his heat, his scent, the weight of his gaze trailing over her.
Sly [leaning against the back wall, voice low, teasing]
“Did you miss me?”
She kept her eyes forward, feigning indifference, even as her pulse betrayed her.
Feliz [coolly]
“Not really.”
Sly chuckled, a deep sound that slid through her like velvet.
Sly [soft, amused, almost purring]
“Liar.”
She clenched her jaw, ignoring the way his voice made her stomach tighten.
A few agonizing seconds passed.
Then—he shifted.
Not much, just enough for the air between them to change, for the elevator to feel suddenly smaller.
Sly [studying her, voice edged with mischief]
“You’re always so cold, Feliz. You think I can’t tell?”
She finally turned to glare at him, arms crossing over her chest, trying to create some distance.
But there wasn’t any.
Not when his gaze locked onto hers with that same infuriating confidence.
Feliz [forcing a dry laugh, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes]
“I’m not cold. I just know better than to get involved with people like you.”
His smirk didn’t falter. If anything, it deepened.
Sly [raising an eyebrow, voice darkening just slightly]
“People like me?”
She tilted her chin up.
Feliz [steady, challenging]
“Yeah. Players. People who don’t know what it means to actually care about someone.”
The words left her mouth before she could stop them.
She expected him to laugh, to brush it off like everything else.
But he didn’t.
Instead, his smirk faded just enough—just barely—before he pushed off the wall, closing the gap between them.
And this time... she didn’t step back.
Because she couldn’t.
The space between them was suddenly too much and not enough, his heat wrapping around her, suffocating her in a way she hated and craved all at once.
And the worst part?
She didn’t want him to move away.
Sly [voice dropping to a whisper, gaze unshakable]
“You think I don’t know how to care?”
She swallowed hard, her body screaming at her to leave—to run—before this went too far.
But Sly was relentless.
Sly [soft, intimate, dangerous]
“I care more than you think, Fel.”
[pausing, letting the weight of his words settle before delivering the final blow—]
“I care about making you admit that you want me.”
Her breath hitched.
Her fingers curled into fists.
She couldn’t react. Couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, because if she did—if she let herself—she didn’t know what would happen.
And that terrified her more than anything.
Feliz [voice barely above a whisper, vulnerability slipping through before she can stop it]
“You’re impossible.”
His grin widened, but this time—this time—there was something darker beneath it.
Sly [his voice low, full of quiet satisfaction]
“And you’re stubborn.”
[leaning just a little closer, words brushing against her skin like a promise—]
“But that’s what makes this so much fun.”
A soft chime echoed through the tense silence as the elevator doors slid open.
Fresh air.
An escape.
Feliz stepped forward fast—but not fast enough.
Because just as she moved, his fingers wrapped around her wrist.
Gentle. Warm. Unshakable.
She froze.
Sly [gripping her just enough to stop her, his voice lower now, almost hypnotic]
“You’re not getting away that easily.”
Her pulse slammed against her ribs.
She spun to face him, her wrist still caught in his hold, her breath coming too fast.
And in that moment, she knew—this wasn’t just flirting anymore.
Because the look in his eyes?
That sharp, unreadable glint in his expression?
This wasn’t a game to him.
Not anymore.
His grip loosened, his thumb grazing her skin one last time before he let her go.
But before she could move—before she could even process the weight of what had just passed between them—he leaned in close.
Too close.
Sly [voice steady, confident, unshakable]
“I’ll get to you, Feliz.”
[pausing, eyes flicking over her parted lips before locking onto hers again]
“And you’ll want it when I do.”
Then, just like that, he released her.
Turned.
And walked away.
Leaving her standing in the hallway, breathless, burning, and completely, helplessly hooked.
- Writer
