Dangerous game
1289 Words
📖 Untamed Secrets
Chapter 11 – Dangerous Games
The next morning, Serena swore she could still feel Jeremy’s hands on her.
The elevator ride up to the 32nd floor was silent except for the pounding of her heart. She had showered until her skin burned, changed outfits twice, and still, every time she caught her reflection in the mirror, she looked like a woman who had just been claimed.
And that was the problem.
Hale Ventures wasn’t a playground. It wasn’t a hotel suite where Jeremy could spread her across silk sheets and make her forget her name. It was an empire with hundreds of eyes—and right now, too many of them were already watching her.
When she stepped into the office, whispers died down, but not quickly enough. Vanessa and her little entourage were huddled by the coffee machine. A few of the interns straightened in their seats as if caught doing something wrong.
Her throat tightened.
Jeremy’s voice cut across the room before she could move.
“Miss DaCosta. In my office.”
Every head turned.
Serena kept her face calm, but her pulse jumped.
She followed him down the corridor, aware of every stare burning into her back.
Jeremy closed the glass door behind them, pulled the blinds shut, and leaned against his desk. His tie was loose, sleeves rolled up, the picture of a man who looked composed to the world but was seething underneath.
“You walked out last night like nothing happened,” he said flatly.
Her jaw tightened. “Because something did happen. And half your building nearly saw it.”
His eyes flashed. “Let them see.”
“Jeremy—”
“I’m done hiding.” He pushed off the desk, stalking toward her until she was pressed against the wall. “I don’t care about the whispers. I don’t care about Eli’s smug little smirk. All I care about is this—” his hand caught hers, dragged it to his chest where his heart pounded hard, fast, desperate. “You feel that? That doesn’t happen for anyone else.”
Her breath caught, but she forced herself steady. “You think that makes it easier? You’re my boss. And the whole damn office knows something’s going on. How long before HR comes knocking? Or the board? Or—”
He kissed her. Hard.
The kind of kiss meant to silence doubt, to force surrender.
Serena shoved at his chest, breaking away, lips swollen. “You can’t fix everything with your mouth, Jeremy.”
His smile was dangerous. “You didn’t complain last night.”
Her hand flew up and smacked him across the chest, more a warning than anything else. “This isn’t a game.”
But his eyes—dark, stormy, unyielding—said the opposite.
“It’s the most dangerous game I’ve ever played,” he murmured.
⸻
By noon, the tension hadn’t eased.
Serena buried herself in spreadsheets at her desk, trying to breathe, trying to focus. Eli strolled past twice, dropping casual comments about “working too hard” and “long nights,” his grin sharp enough to draw blood. Vanessa kept casting her sly looks as though waiting for the scandal to explode.
And Jeremy?
Jeremy didn’t look at her once.
He sat in his office, door closed, phone glued to his ear, barking orders like the ruthless CEO everyone knew. But Serena could still feel the heat of his hands on her thighs, the way his voice had broken when he told her he wasn’t hiding anymore.
Her body wanted him.
Her mind screamed danger.
Her heart… her heart was already choosing sides.
⸻
The quarterly board meeting started at three sharp.
Serena entered the glass-walled boardroom with her tablet, trying to ignore the swirl of whispers that seemed to follow her.
Jeremy was already there at the head of the table, surrounded by the most powerful men and women in the company. Eli slipped into the chair beside her, smirking like the devil himself.
“You look nervous, love,” he whispered.
“Go to hell,” she whispered back.
His grin widened. “Already there. But you’d make the view worth it.”
Before she could retort, Jeremy’s voice cut the air like a whip.
“Let’s begin.”
The meeting dragged on—charts, legal strategies, expansion plans. Serena typed notes, kept her eyes low, fought to appear composed.
But every few minutes, she caught Jeremy’s gaze flicking to her. Brief. Intense. Possessive.
And Eli noticed.
Which meant everyone else probably did too.
When it finally ended, Serena started to gather her things—only for Eli to lean closer, his hand brushing hers deliberately.
“Dinner tonight?” he murmured.
She stiffened. “No.”
“Come on, love. One drink. I promise I don’t bite.”
Jeremy’s chair scraped back with a violent sound.
Everyone looked up.
“Serena. My office. Now.”
The words were cold. Sharp. Irrefutable.
Eli leaned back, smirking. “Guess that’s a no, then.”
Serena’s cheeks burned as she stood, walking out under the weight of a dozen curious stares.
⸻
The second the door shut behind her, Jeremy was on her.
He shoved her against the wall, jaw tight, eyes burning.
“You think this is funny?” he growled.
She blinked. “What—”
“Him. Touching you. Asking you out like I’m not sitting right there. And you—you don’t even tell him to back the f**k off.”
Her temper flared. “I did tell him no. Not that it’s any of your business.”
His hand slammed against the wall beside her head. “It’s my business when you’re mine.”
“Stop saying that!” Her chest rose and fell with each sharp breath. “You don’t get to claim me in private and ignore me in public. You don’t get to burn through me one night and act like my jailer the next. That’s not love, Jeremy. That’s possession.”
His jaw worked. For a moment, silence roared louder than his anger.
Then, softer—hoarse, raw—he whispered, “I don’t know how to do this any other way.”
Her throat tightened.
She wanted to fight. To yell. To walk out and never look back.
Instead, she cupped his face, forcing him to meet her eyes.
“Then learn,” she said. “Or you’ll lose me.”
For the first time, Jeremy looked shaken.
Vulnerable.
Like the man she’d glimpsed in rare quiet moments, not the steel CEO.
“Don’t walk away,” he said, voice breaking just enough to sound human.
Her hand slipped down to his chest, feeling his heartbeat hammer against her palm. “Then give me a reason to stay.”
⸻
The reason came ten minutes later.
Jeremy kissed her like he was drowning and she was the only air he wanted. He stripped her blouse open, pushed her skirt up, lifted her onto his desk as though he couldn’t stand another second without her.
And Serena—God help her—let him.
His mouth was fire. His hands were chains. His thrusts were punishment and prayer all at once.
She clung to him, nails digging into his back, moaning his name until it was the only word that existed.
When she shattered, he followed with a groan that sounded like surrender.
And as they lay tangled in the wreckage of paperwork and broken rules, Serena realized the truth she didn’t want to admit.
This wasn’t a fling.
It wasn’t an office scandal waiting to erupt.
It was dangerous. Consuming. Real.
And it was far too late to turn back.
- Writer
