Eyes on us
1241 Words
📖 Untamed Secrets
Chapter 10 – Eyes On Us
⸻
The click of her heels echoed too loudly in the morning hallway. Serena kept her chin up, every step sharp, every breath measured.
She could still feel him.
Jeremy Hale.
The weight of his hands pinning her wrists, the rough press of his mouth devouring hers, the way his body had driven her past the edge until she was nothing but sound and need. She had woken up aching, sore in places she hadn’t even known could ache, her reflection flushed and glowing.
And now she was here, pretending she was just another employee walking into another Monday morning.
“Is that a hickey on your neck?”
Serena froze mid-step.
Her pulse slammed against her throat. She didn’t need to look to know who it was — that familiar, mocking tone was enough.
Vanessa.
The PR associate leaned casually against the wall, coffee cup in hand, her dark eyes gleaming with too much interest. Her lipstick was perfect, her dress tailored within an inch of scandal. Vanessa always looked like she was auditioning for the cover of a magazine.
Serena smoothed her blouse collar. “No. And even if it was, it’s none of your business.”
Vanessa’s smile widened as she fell into step beside her. Her perfume was sharp, expensive, and suffocating. “Oh, darling, everything that happens in this building is someone’s business. Especially when it involves him.”
Serena’s steps faltered. “Excuse me?”
Vanessa’s laugh was light and cruel. “You know. The way Mr. Hale’s been looking at you. People notice these things. You don’t get to work this close to him without people whispering.”
Whispers. Always whispers.
Serena’s stomach tightened. She had told herself last night was… what? A weakness? A lapse? But hearing it said out loud made it dangerous.
She kept her face smooth, her voice calm. “You should really worry less about me and more about your own work, Vanessa.”
And with that, she left her standing in the hallway, smile sharp as a knife.
⸻
The rooftop garden glowed in the afternoon sun. White linens stretched over round tables, glasses of champagne catching the light, waiters moving in perfect rhythm with silver trays balanced high.
Quarterly luncheons were supposed to be professional. Networking, performance reviews, and polite corporate chatter. But today, Serena felt like every gaze lingered a second too long. Like every laugh carried a hidden edge.
Her dress was cream, belted at the waist, simple but elegant. She’d told herself it was armor. But the truth? She felt naked.
Jeremy was already there when she arrived, standing near the CEO, his posture straight, suit impeccable. He had one hand tucked in his pocket, the other holding a glass of champagne. He looked untouchable, magnetic, dangerous.
And he hadn’t texted her all day.
Serena’s chest squeezed. She hated that it bothered her.
She slid into a chair near the finance team, forcing her hands to steady as she poured water into her glass. She focused on breathing, on looking busy, on not staring at him.
Then a shadow fell across her.
“Late, but worth the wait.”
Eli.
He dropped into the chair beside her, smile too easy, voice dipped in mischief. His tie was loosened, his eyes bright with amusement. “You look flushed. Rough morning?”
Serena gave him a polite smile. “Not your business.”
He leaned closer, his cologne fresh, citrus and cedar wrapping around her. “Come on. You’re glowing. And Hale—” his eyes flicked toward Jeremy “—he’s acting like a dog guarding a bone.”
“Eli.”
But he wasn’t done. His voice dropped lower, sharp now. “Did you think people wouldn’t notice? The way you walk differently? The way you moan when you stretch in your chair?”
Her eyes snapped to his. “Excuse me?”
But before she could say more—
“Eli.”
Jeremy’s voice.
Flat. Cold. Dangerous.
Eli leaned back lazily in his chair, grin widening as if he’d been waiting for this. “Mr. Hale. Just congratulating Serena on her… stamina.”
Serena’s heart lurched. Heat crawled up her neck.
Jeremy didn’t move. Didn’t blink. But beneath the table, his hand closed around Serena’s wrist — firm, unyielding, his touch electric. The silent message was clear.
Mine.
Serena’s breath caught.
“Serena,” Jeremy said, his tone deceptively calm. “Come with me.”
Her eyes darted between them. Eli’s mocking grin. Jeremy’s iron grip.
“Jeremy—” she began softly.
“Now.”
The command left no space for argument.
⸻
The elevator doors slid shut, cutting off the laughter and chatter of the rooftop above. Jeremy’s hand never left her wrist.
She opened her mouth to speak, but then—
He slammed the emergency stop.
The jolt startled her, heart racing. “Jeremy, what the hell—”
He turned.
Not the cool CEO. Not the controlled billionaire.
But a man on the edge.
“I told you,” he said, voice low, vibrating with fury. “No one touches you. No one talks about you like that.”
Serena crossed her arms, forcing her voice steady. “You’re the one keeping this secret. If people talk, it’s because you make me invisible.”
He stepped closer.
“I was protecting you.”
“No,” she shot back, her chest rising with anger. “You were protecting yourself.”
The silence between them was electric.
Then he moved — pinning her to the mirrored wall, his hands braced beside her head, his body caging hers in.
“I’m not hiding anymore,” he said, eyes burning into hers. “You’re mine. I don’t care who sees.”
His mouth crashed onto hers — deep, filthy, claiming. The kiss was brutal, stealing her breath, setting her veins on fire.
She gasped against him. “Jeremy—someone could—”
“Let them,” he growled, his hand sliding beneath her skirt, fingers hooking into her panties. “Let them whisper.”
Her back arched as his touch found her — hot, insistent, devastating.
He caught her wrist in one hand, pinning it above her head, while his other hand worked her relentlessly. Two fingers driving into her, his thumb circling her c**t in tight, merciless strokes.
“God—Jeremy—”
His mouth brushed her ear, voice dark and possessive. “I want them to know. That you scream for me. That you break for me.”
Her body shuddered, every nerve unraveling. Heat spread through her like wildfire, sharp and overwhelming until she shattered — gasping his name, nails raking his shoulders, head pressed back against the mirrored wall.
He didn’t stop until her legs trembled. Until her voice was hoarse from whispering his name.
When the elevator dinged, he released the emergency stop with one hand, smoothing her skirt down with the other like nothing had happened.
The doors slid open.
Serena stepped out on shaky legs, her cheeks flushed, her panties damp, his hand firm at the small of her back.
And then she froze.
Because Vanessa was standing just beyond the glass doors.
And so was Eli.
Both of them watching. Both of them knowing.
Jeremy didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink.
He only smirked, pulling Serena closer to his side.
Like he had just won.
- Writer
