Chapter Ten: The Pull Tightens.
316 Words
The silence between them stretched, heavy and alive. Maya’s heart raced as she stood frozen at the doorway, Alex still half-dressed, gaze fixed on her like a challenge.
“Alex,” Maya whispered, her voice betraying nerves. “We should go… dinner, remember?”
Alex stepped closer, closing the gap. The faint scent of her perfume mixed with something sharper, something that made Maya’s pulse leap. “Dinner can wait,” she said. “You keep stumbling in at the wrong time. Maybe I should start wondering if it’s really an accident.”
Maya shook her head quickly. “I didn’t mean—”
But Alex reached out, her fingers brushing along Maya’s arm, light yet deliberate. “You didn’t mean to, but you didn’t look away either.” Her tone was smooth, edged with certainty.
Maya’s throat went dry. She should have stepped back, but instead her body leaned into the touch, betraying her.
Alex tilted her head, studying her like a puzzle only she could solve. “You trust me, don’t you?”
Maya nodded before she could stop herself.
“Good.” Alex’s hand trailed lower, a teasing caress before she pulled back with a smirk, leaving Maya breathless. She slipped into her shirt with unhurried ease, buttoning it one clasp at a time, eyes never leaving Maya’s. Each movement was deliberate, a show of control.
By the time she finished, Maya felt as though she’d been through a storm. Alex reached for her jacket and finally said, “Now we can go. But don’t forget—you’re the one who walked in.”
Maya swallowed hard, following her out of the room. She told herself she’d brush it off over dinner, pretend it hadn’t happened.
But deep inside, she knew pretending wouldn’t work anymore. The pull between them was real, and Alex had just made it clear who was holding the reins.
- Writer
