Close Enough To Burn
706 Words
I should have left.
That thought stayed in my head like a warning siren I kept ignoring.
Days passed inside Dominic’s world, and instead of feeling safer… I felt pulled in. Like the walls weren’t trapping me they were closing around me.
And him.
He was everywhere.
Not physically. Not always.
But his presence lingered like a shadow that refused to detach.
I learned who he was by accident.
Men didn’t speak freely around me, but whispers have a way of slipping through cracks.
“Boss wants it handled tonight.”
“Don’t mess it up. You know how Dominic is.”
“Yeah… I’d rather not end up like the last guy.”
Boss.
Not businessman. Not CEO.
Something else.
Something darker.
I found out the truth the night I followed him.
He didn’t notice me at first.
Or maybe he did.
With Dominic, it was hard to tell the difference.
He stood across the room, speaking to a man who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Fear clung to him like sweat.
Dominic, on the other hand, looked calm.
Too calm.
Controlled.
Deadly.
I watched as he leaned in slightly, said something too low for me to hear
And the man nodded frantically.
Like his life depended on it.
Because it probably did.
“Curiosity is dangerous, Elena.”
His voice came from behind me.
I froze.
Slowly, I turned.
He was closer than I expected.
Much closer.
“You followed me,” he said.
Not a question.
I lifted my chin slightly. “You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You just didn’t tell me you’re a criminal?”
His gaze sharpened.
“I told you you were in my world.”
Silence stretched between us.
Heavy.
Then I stepped closer.
I don’t know why.
Maybe I wanted to prove I wasn’t afraid.
Maybe I wanted to see if he would move away.
He didn’t.
“So what am I to you?” I asked quietly.
The question hung there.
Fragile.
Dangerous.
His eyes dropped to my lips again.
Slow.
Intentional.
Like he wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore.
“You’re a complication,” he said.
My breath caught.
“That sounds like a problem.”
“It is.”
Another step.
Now there was barely any space left between us.
I could feel the heat of him.
The steady rise and fall of his chest.
The quiet control in the way he held himself like every movement was chosen, not accidental.
“Then why haven’t you sent me away?” I whispered.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“You think you’re easy to let go of?”
My pulse stuttered.
His hand lifted.
This time, slower.
Like he was giving me time to stop him.
I didn’t.
His fingers brushed against my wrist first.
Light.
Testing.
But the contact sent something sharp through me, like my body reacted before my mind could catch up.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
“See?” he murmured, voice lower now. “That’s the problem.”
His hand slid up slightly, just enough to tilt my chin again.
Gentler than before.
But somehow more dangerous.
“Dominic…” his name barely left my lips.
And something in his expression shifted.
Not softer.
But deeper.
He leaned in.
Slowly.
Like he was giving me time to step back.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
The space between us disappeared.
Not with a kiss.
Not yet.
But with breath shared.
With tension so thick it felt like it could snap.
“If I start this…” he said quietly, his voice brushing against my skin more than reaching my ears,
“I don’t stop.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Then don’t start,” I whispered.
But I didn’t move.
Didn’t pull away.
Didn’t breathe.
A pause.
A long one.
Like a decision was being made.
Then
His thumb brushed lightly across my lower lip.
And everything inside me unraveled just a little.
“Dangerous,” he murmured again.
But this time…
It didn’t sound like a warning.
It sounded like a promise.
And somehow, in that moment
I knew.
This wasn’t going to end safely.
Not for me.
Not for him.
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