Unscripted After

Chapter 16

Talia wrapped a towel tightly around her damp skin, steam curling behind her as she stepped out of Cassian’s master bathroom. The water heater had started acting up again, and she had just wanted a quick rinse before dinner. “Just this once won’t kill me,” she had muttered earlier, slipping into his ensuite. “He said he was heading out for a call, he’d be gone longer.”

But he wasn’t.

Cassian froze at the doorway the moment he spotted her. His dress shirt was halfway unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, hair still damp from his own shower. For a second, neither of them moved. Neither of them breathed.

She gasped, stepping back slightly. “I—uh—I didn’t know you were back.”

He should have turned around. Should have offered a half-smile and left her some space. But he didn’t.

Because for days now, he’d been noticing her. The curve of her smile when she laughed at his sarcasm. The way her nightshirt sometimes slipped a little too low when she leaned over the kitchen counter. The scent of her shampoo when she walked past him.

And now, wrapped in nothing but a towel, her wet skin glistening in the dim light, she looked impossibly alluring.

His eyes darkened. He took a slow step forward. “I thought you were using your bathroom.”

She swallowed. “The heater’s acting weird again. I didn’t think you’d mind…”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The tension between them had shifted, thick and charged, like a storm about to break.

Talia stepped to the side, intending to move past him. He mirrored her. Not stopping her. Just… watching. And then, he stepped closer.

The air crackled.

Their eyes locked.

His gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he muttered, voice hoarse.

She didn’t step away. Couldn’t. The heat in his stare pinned her in place, just like the flutter in her chest that wouldn’t settle.

He brushed a damp strand of hair from her cheek. His fingers lingered.

And then he kissed her, lightly at first, almost hesitant, testing boundaries. Talia’s hands twitched, unsure if she should reach for him or push away. He pulled back slightly, searching her eyes, as if asking permission without speaking.

She inhaled sharply. “Cassian…”

His forehead rested against hers, their breaths mingling. “I’m not supposed to…” he whispered, voice low.

“I know,” she breathed, tension and longing warring inside her.

For a long moment, they simply stood there. Close. Too close. Something raw and unfinished flickering in the space between them.

Talia let out a shaky laugh, a soft deflection. “We should… get dressed.”

He nodded slowly, still close enough that the heat of his body pressed against hers. “Yeah,” he said, voice rough. “We should.”

She stepped back, and he gave a reluctant sigh, letting the space between them grow, though neither of them fully let go of the lingering tension.

And in the quiet aftermath, both felt it: the unspoken promise of what could come, and the danger of letting it happen too soon.

Talia let out a shaky laugh, a soft deflection. “We should… get dressed.”

He nodded slowly, still close enough that the heat of his body pressed against hers. “Yeah,” he said, voice rough. “We should.”

She stepped back, and he gave a reluctant sigh, his fingers brushing hers one last time before letting go. The space between them grew, but neither fully released the tension lingering in the air.

As Talia moved toward the bedroom, she couldn’t help stealing one glance over her shoulder. Cassian’s dark eyes followed her, unreadable, yet full of something dangerous and unspoken.

And in that quiet, suspended moment, both of them felt it: the pull, the fire, and the knowledge that this was far from over.