Chapter 5: Too Close
1411 Words
The next few days turned dangerous. Not because anything happened, but because nothing did. Damian avoided me with such care that it felt worse than anything else. He left early for work every single morning and stayed locked inside his office for hours each night. At dinner, he barely looked at me.
It was like he was trying to erase the tension between us. But unfortunately for him, it was impossible. Once you noticed something, you could not unsee it. And I had noticed everything. The way his eyes darkened when he looked at me too long. The way his voice changed when we stood too close. The way his entire body went tense whenever I touched him by accident.
Something was happening between us. Something dangerous. And Damian knew it, too. That was exactly why he was running from me.
I stabbed my salad with unnecessary force during dinner on Thursday night. Damian sat across from me, reading emails on his tablet.
“You know,” I said finally, “most people actually speak during meals.”
Without looking up, he answered calmly, “Most people are not dealing with six company mergers.”
I rolled my eyes. “There it is again.”
His attention finally lifted to me. “What?”
“That robot billionaire personality.”
A small shadow of amusement crossed his face. “You are annoyed tonight.”
“You have ignored me for three days.”
“I have been working.”
“You have been hiding.”
That made him pause. Just for a second. But I noticed. Damian slowly placed the tablet down on the table. The movement alone made my pulse quicken.
“I am sitting directly in front of you, Aurora.”
“That does not mean you are here.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine. Too intense. Too steady. “You should stop analyzing me,” he said quietly.
“Maybe you should stop acting suspicious.”
A dangerous silence filled the dining room. Even the staff nearby suddenly became very interested in anything except us. Good choice. Because the tension between Damian and me felt sharp enough to cut through glass.
He leaned back in his chair, studying me carefully. “You enjoy provoking people.”
“You only notice when it is you.”
His jaw tightened. Score. I picked up my glass calmly, pretending my heart was not beating too fast.
Then Damian spoke again. “Did your father call today?”
The sudden change in subject annoyed me. “Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That he misses me.” Something unreadable crossed Damian’s expression. “He also asked if you are taking care of me.”
“And?”
I shrugged lightly. “I told him you are doing your best.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “My best?”
“You are feeding me. That is something.”
A quiet laugh escaped him before he could stop it. The sound surprised both of us. I smiled instantly. “There you are.”
Damian’s expression changed the moment he realized he had relaxed around me. The walls went back up. Fast. Too fast. I hated it.
“Do you ever stop controlling yourself?” I asked softly.
That question hit something inside him. I saw it immediately. His gaze darkened. “Aurora.”
“No, seriously. You act like emotions are illegal.”
“Some emotions should be controlled.”
The meaning behind those words was impossible to miss. Heat crept into my cheeks. Neither of us looked away. The air suddenly felt too warm again.
Then his phone rang loudly. The moment shattered instantly. Damian looked away first and answered the call. “Yes.” His voice returned to cold business mode immediately.
I hated how disappointed I felt. I pushed my chair back quietly and stood up. Damian looked toward me while still on the phone. “Where are you going?”
I raised one eyebrow. “I thought you were busy.”
His eyes stayed on me for a moment too long before he spoke into the phone again. “I will call you back.” Then he ended the call completely.
My stomach flipped. “You hung up?”
“You were leaving.”
The simple answer affected me far more than it should have. I crossed my arms carefully. “Maybe I wanted space.”
Damian stood slowly from his chair. And suddenly I regretted every teasing word that had come out of my mouth tonight. Because this version of Damian was dangerous. Calm. Focused. Intense.
He walked toward me slowly while loosening the cuffs of his black shirt. My breathing became uneven immediately. “You keep testing me,” he said quietly.
Every nerve in my body woke up. “Maybe you deserve it.”
Big mistake. He stopped directly in front of me. Too close. Way too close. I could smell whiskey on his breath tonight, mixed with his usual cologne. His gray eyes held mine completely.
“You think this is a game?” he asked softly.
I swallowed hard. “No.”
“Then stop acting like it.”
My heartbeat pounded painfully. Because deep down, I knew exactly what he meant. This attraction between us was no longer harmless. And the terrifying part? Neither of us wanted it to stop.
I tried to step around him. Damian’s hand suddenly touched my wrist. Not rough. Not aggressive. But firm enough to stop me instantly. My entire body reacted to that tiny touch. So did his. I saw it in the way his jaw tightened again.
Slowly, his eyes dropped to where his fingers held my skin. Then back to my face. The silence became unbearable. “Aurora,” he said quietly, “you need to understand something.”
His thumb brushed lightly against my wrist. Either by accident, or maybe not. Either way, my pulse jumped wildly. “You are making this difficult.”
The words came out rougher than he intended. I stared at him carefully. “Making what difficult?”
For one dangerous second, it looked like he might answer honestly. His grip tightened slightly. Then footsteps sounded somewhere down the hallway. Damian released me immediately. The moment disappeared so fast it almost felt unreal.
A housekeeper entered carrying fresh flowers for the dining room. Neither of us spoke. Neither of us moved. But the tension remained there between us. Heavy. Burning. Alive.
Damian stepped backward first. His face became unreadable again. “I have work to finish,” he said calmly. Like nothing happened. Like his hand had not just been wrapped around my wrist. Like he had not looked at me like a starving man two seconds ago.
Anger mixed with frustration inside me instantly. “You always do that,” I snapped.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do what?”
“Run away.”
“I am not running.”
“You are terrified of your own feelings.”
The words escaped before I could stop them. Silence. Dead silence. Even the housekeeper quickly disappeared from the room. Smart woman.
Damian stared at me with an expression I could not understand. Then very slowly, he stepped closer again. One step. That was all. But it completely destroyed the small distance between us.
“You think you know what I feel?” he asked quietly.
My heart pounded harder. “I think you are trying very hard not to feel anything.”
A muscle moved in his jaw. Then his voice became lower. Dangerously low. “You are not a little girl anymore, Aurora.”
My breath caught instantly. His eyes burned into mine. “That is the problem.”
The exact words from the kitchen. Only this time they sounded even darker. More honest. The air between us felt electric. I could barely breathe. Damian looked at me like he was fighting himself. And losing.
Then suddenly he stepped back again. Control returned to his expression piece by piece. “I am going to my office,” he said calmly.
I hated how normal his voice sounded now. Before I could answer, he turned and walked away. Leaving me standing alone in the dining room with shaking hands and a racing heart.
But this time, one terrifying truth became impossible to ignore. Damian Cross wanted me. And sooner or later, his self-control was going to break.
- Writer
