Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 8

The door creaked open just as Alex dropped his bag onto the floor. He barely had time to kick off his shoes before a giggling girl in a sparkly mini dress brushed past him.

"Bye, Zane," she called over her shoulder with a wink. She flashed Alex a grin on her way out. "Hey, cutie."

Alex blinked, too tired to respond. He barely had time to close the door before Zane emerged from the hallway shirtless, hair a mess, and a smug grin plastered across his face.

"Another one?" Alex asked flatly, already walking toward the fridge.

“What can I say?” Zane shrugged. “People love an emotionally unavailable guy with good hair and no furniture.”

“You should put that on your dating profile.”

Zane leaned against the counter. “I did.”

Alex popped open a soda and sat on the couch with a sigh.

“So, are we gonna talk about why you’ve been sulking for three days straight?” Zane asked, flopping beside him. “Because it’s starting to affect my s*x life.”

Alex gave him a look. “How?”

“Well, you keep playing Lana Del Rey at depressing volumes and staring at your phone like it ghosted you.”

Alex groaned and let his head fall back against the couch. “It’s nothing.”

Zane tilted his head. “It’s that boss of yours you keep talking about, isn’t it?”

Alex didn’t answer. He was almost regretting mentioning to Zane, his roommate, that Sebastian was the hottest man he has ever seen. That had happened the first day he saw Sebastian’s picture and Zane had been shipping them since then.

“I knew it,” Zane said, grinning. “You’ve got that haunted look. Like someone almost kissed you but then told you to leave without any explanation.”

“...That’s actually did happen”.

Zane’s grin faltered. “Wait. Seriously?”

Alex nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair. “We were… I don’t know. There was a moment. And then his phone rang, and he just—changed. Told me to leave. It was like I was trash.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah.”

Zane hummed. “Classic repressed older man. Look, you need a break. Come out with me tonight. New club. Low lighting. High potential.”

“I’m not really in the mood.”

“That’s the point,” Zane said, standing. “If you’re not going to confront the hot lawyer, at least let someone else buy you a drink.”

The club was loud and hot and smelled like sweat and expensive cologne. Alex nursed his drink at the bar while Zane disappeared into the writhing mass of bodies on the dance floor. Zane was bi, and so Alex wasn’t surprised he had brought him to a gay club.

He wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to come. The music pulsed through his chest, the neon lights painted everyone in electric shades of red and blue, and everything felt just a little too much.

“First time here?” a voice asked beside him.

Alex turned. The guy was tall, maybe a few years older, and smiling like he already knew Alex would say yes.

“Yeah,” Alex said. “You?”

“Regular,” the guy replied. “I’d remember if I’d seen you.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, but smiled. “That line always work?”

“Only on the ones who aren’t thinking about someone else.”

Alex stiffened. “That obvious?”

The guy shrugged. “You’ve got the look.”

Alex tilted his head. “What look?”

“The one that says you’re here, but you’re not really here.”

Alex exhaled a soft laugh. “Guilty.”

The guy stepped closer. “Want to dance anyway?”

Alex hesitated. Then nodded. “Sure.”

It wasn’t anything serious. They danced, they touched. The guy kissed him once—gentle, nothing too deep—and Alex let it happen. It felt nice. Normal. Like he was finally doing what he was supposed to.

Until he looked over the guy’s shoulder—and froze.

At the far end of the club, near the VIP section, Sebastian stood in a dark suit, untouched drink in hand, watching.

His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were locked onto Alex. Unmoving. Unblinking.

Alex pulled away from the guy mid-kiss.

“Hey—what’s wrong?” the guy asked.

Alex didn’t answer. He was already moving through the crowd, heart pounding in his ears.

By the time he reached the other side of the club, Sebastian was gone.

The next morning at work, Alex kept his head down. He filed documents, delivered folders, pretended everything was normal.

But when he entered Sebastian’s office with the Curverland’s file, he could feel the tension hanging in the air like a stormcloud.

“You didn’t file the NDA,” Sebastian said without looking up.

Alex blinked. “I—I thought we were holding that until—”

“You thought wrong.”

Alex swallowed. “I’ll fix it.

Sebastian was acting like everything was fine. He was acting like the jerk he is.

Like Alex hadn’t seen him in that club last night. Like their eyes hadn’t locked in a room full of smoke and sweat and secrets.

Like Sebastian King hadn’t watched him make out with a stranger in the dark and then vanish.

He decided then. He was going to test the waters with Sebastian. Alex kept his voice casual. Breezy, even.

“I almost didn’t make it in today,” he said, flipping a file open. “Was out kinda late last night.”

Sebastian didn’t look up.

“Mmm,” he said, tapping his pen. “You’ll need to tighten this clause in paragraph four.”

Alex smiled faintly. “Yeah, it was one of those nights… dancing, too many shots… running into interesting people.”

That got him a glance. Just a flick of Sebastian’s eyes.

But it was enough.

Alex tilted his head, watching him. “Funny, right? How small the city feels sometimes. Like you never know who you’ll run into... even in places you least expect.”

Sebastian’s pen stopped moving.

Slowly, deliberately, he looked up. “Is there a point to this?”

Alex shrugged. “Nope. Just making conversation.”

Sebastian stood.

Walked around the desk — not quickly, not slowly. Just... calculated. Intentional.

Alex’s heart started hammering.

When Sebastian stopped in front of him, they were inches apart. Too close for a boss and his paralegal. Too close for the ice in Sebastian’s voice.

“What exactly do you think you saw, Alex?”

His tone was smooth. Dangerously calm. But something behind his eyes was feral.

Alex blinked. “I didn’t say I saw anything.”

“But you implied something,” Sebastian said, stepping closer. “You know what I don’t like, Alex?”

Alex swallowed. “Hmm?”

“Games. Especially ones with subtext.”

There was nowhere to move. Nowhere to breathe. Sebastian was crowding him without touching him — until he did.

One hand landed flat against the wall beside Alex’s head.

Alex froze.

Sebastian’s body wasn’t quite touching his — but the heat between them burned.

“You want to say something?” Sebastian murmured. “Say it.”

Alex licked his lips. His throat was dry. His c**k was painfully hard.

“...I just thought..I saw you in the club yesterday,” he said, barely above a whisper.

Sebastian slammed his other hand against the wall, pinning Alex between his arms.

Alex gasped — it wasn’t violent, just... dominant.

He couldn’t move.

Sebastian leaned in, his breath hot at Alex’s ear.

“You have no idea what you saw.”

Alex whimpered, hips twitching forward instinctively. He hated how his body reacted — how hard he was, how badly he wanted Sebastian to lose control.

Sebastian didn’t move. Didn’t touch him.

But he felt everything.

“You think you know me?” he growled.

“No sir,” Alex said shakily

Silence.

Sebastian’s jaw flexed. His breathing was harsh.

For a terrifying, beautiful second, Alex thought he was going to kiss him. Really kiss him.

But instead, Sebastian pushed off the wall and stepped back, like he'd just remembered where they were. Who they were.

Boss. Employee.

Closet. Door.

“Get back to work,” he said coldly. “Now.”

Alex stood there for a beat longer, legs shaky, erection pressing hard against his slacks.

Sebastian didn’t look at him again.

But when Alex finally turned to leave, he could feel Sebastian’s eyes on his back like heat through glass.