DANGEROUS TEMPTATION

CHAPTER THREE: Weakened Concentration

Silas’ POV

The Moscow skyline stretched across my office window, gray and indifferent. Rain streaked the glass in thin lines, just like last night, and for a second I swore I could still feel her there.

Zara.

I hadn't seen her since she was nineteen.

I didn't realize how fast she had grown either.

I exhaled sharply and dragged a hand through my hair. The words echoed in my skull like a warning I refused to hear. I’d repeated that line so many times it had lost meaning. She’s Austin’s daughter. So what? Did that erase the way her eyes found mine in that kitchen?

I wasn’t supposed to think about her. Not like this. Not the way her hair clung to her neck, the warmth of the kitchen, the faint smell of chocolate and butter that lingered in my memory like a ghost.

I tried to bury it under work, under reason, under the idea that I was better than this. But reason had no place when it came to her. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her standing there, framed by the kitchen light like some kind of temptation carved out of innocence.

“Boss?” Bailey’s voice cut through my thoughts. He was leaning against the doorframe, one eyebrow raised, files in hand. “You’re staring out the window again. And we need to finish those reports as they won’t write themselves.”

Bailey and I had been working together for years. He’s more than my employee or right hand man.

He was always there. Every meeting, every gala, every milestone the company hit.

Our years together had made him grow casualty between us which didn’t make me uncomfortable, well, maybe sometimes it did.

I blinked, pushing the memory back. “I’m fine,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Just… focus on this.”

Bailey smirked. “Right. You’ve got that glaze over your eyes again. That glaze means someone’s on your mind.”

I turned slowly, fixing him with my best glare. “It’s called concentration.”

“Uh-huh.” He stepped into the room, dropping the files on my desk. “Concentration, right. Sure, boss. Whatever you say.”

I ignored him and picked up a folder, but my eyes kept drifting back to the city below. The thought of her lingered stubbornly. The way she’d looked up at me in the kitchen, cheeks flushed, wet hair sticking to her skin… It was absurd how much I was replaying it.

“Boss?” Bailey’s voice again, closer this time. He leaned against the edge of my desk. “You’re seriously going to stare at the skyline all day instead of working?”

I clenched my jaw. “I said I’m fine. Now leave me alone.”

“You keep saying you’re fine,” Bailey said, still grinning, “but I’ve worked for you for seven years. You only stare out the window like that when you’ve lost a fight.”

“I haven’t lost anything.”

“Then why do you look like you’re about to?”

I glared at him. “You talk too much.”

He chuckled. “Fine, fine. But I swear… you’re worse than a teenager. You’ve got it bad.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The thought of her smile, the way she’d leaned just slightly closer than she should have, made my blood run hot. She wasn’t supposed to have this effect on me. She was my goddaughter, my friend’s daughter, off-limits in every sense. And yet…

I shook my head, trying to force the obsession out. Work. Focus. Control. That’s what I was supposed to do.

Bailey’s laugh echoed behind me, and I felt it as much as I heard it. “Fine, I’ll leave. But don’t pretend you’re not thinking about her. I can see it.”

What did he mean by her? Was it that obvious?

I gritted my teeth, muttering under my breath. “She’s not… she’s not anything like that.”

My voice sounded foreign, even to me. Too soft. Too unsure. I’d built my life on control,

in business, in war, in everything, yet one look from her and it all fell apart.

But I didn’t believe myself. Not for a second.

The folder in my hand felt heavier with every passing thought. I went through the numbers mechanically, my mind half on the work, half on the memory of her. I saw her reach for the cookies, smelled the chocolate again, felt the heat of that small, too-close space.

I slammed the folder shut and leaned back in my chair, gripping the arms like they would anchor me.

I loosened my tie, trying to shake the heat off my skin. The rain outside wasn’t helping; it only made the office feel smaller, heavier, tighter. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, praying for a distraction, anything to take her face out of my head.

Then my phone buzzed.

A new message. From Austin Rosewood.

“I need you to take care of Zara while I’m gone.”

My chest tightened.

My first instinct was to call him back, to tell him I couldn’t. But I didn’t. I couldn’t form the words. My thumb hovered over his name, useless. Because the truth was, I didn’t want to say no. Not really.

I stared at the words like they were written in fire. Take care of her. Alone. Under my control. My responsibility.

Everything inside me shifted. The memory of last night, of the kitchen, of her in my car… it wasn’t going to leave. And now it wasn’t just a fleeting thought. It was my duty. My burden. And God, it was irresistible.

Bailey’s voice pulled me back again. “Everything okay?”

I didn’t answer immediately. I shouldn’t answer. Not now. “Yes,” I said finally, voice steady but clipped. “Everything’s fine.”

He didn’t buy it. “Sure, boss.” He smirked, sliding out of the office. “Try not to get yourself in trouble.”

I let the door click shut, then leaned forward, staring out at the city again. Every car, every streetlight, every rain streak reminded me of her. The way she’d been soaked, shivering, and somehow… smiling at me when I offered her a ride.

I’d handled power my entire life. Negotiations, threats, weapons, chaos. I could control it all. But desire? That was the one thing that didn’t obey orders.

I shook my head. I was a man who controlled everything. I owned everything. And yet, the thought of her made me lose focus like a schoolboy.

I stood, pacing the office, gripping the edge of my desk, trying to calm myself. It was absurd. I had rules. I had boundaries. And I was about to break every one of them without even touching her.

Her laugh echoed in my mind. The warmth of her hand brushing mine in the kitchen… I could see it. I could feel it.

I took a deep breath, trying to force logic into the chaos of my thoughts. She was off-limits. She was forbidden. But she was here, and now she was mine to watch over. And I couldn’t stop thinking about her…

…not for one second.

I stared out the window again, the city blurred beneath the rain, and my mind wandered to that kitchen, to the near-touch, to the way her eyes had caught mine just before the world intervened.

The tension wouldn’t leave me. It had planted itself like a seed, growing stronger by the minute. Every heartbeat reminded me that control was an illusion.

The rain turned heavier, pounding against the window until it sounded like a heartbeat. Mine.

I knew then that whatever line I was supposed to keep, I’d already crossed it in my mind. The rest was only a matter of time.

I gritted my teeth. I had responsibilities. Rules. Duty. Yet I knew the moment I saw her again, none of it would matter.