Chapter 7
993 Words
Amara
I should have stepped back.
That thought came late.
Too late to matter.
Because by the time it crossed my mind, he was already close enough that it didn’t feel like there was anywhere to go. The space between us had disappeared without me noticing when it happened, replaced by something heavier, something that made the air feel different.
His hand was still at my jaw.
Light.
Not forcing me to stay.
But not letting me forget it was there.
“You’re not leaving,” he said quietly.
It wasn’t a question.
I swallowed.
“I said I was.”
“You said it,” he replied. “You didn’t do it.”
That should have been enough to make me move.
It wasn’t.
Because the truth sat there between us, obvious and impossible to ignore.
I hadn’t left.
I hadn’t even tried.
“Stop doing that,” I said.
“Doing what.”
“Turning everything back on me.”
“It already is.”
God.
I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself, trying to ignore the way my pulse had picked up again, the way my thoughts felt slower, heavier, like they were trying to catch up to something I wasn’t fully understanding yet.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I said.
“It doesn’t have to.”
“It does to me.”
His thumb moved slightly against my jaw.
Barely anything.
But enough.
Enough to make my breath catch.
Enough to make everything else fade just slightly.
“You’re thinking too much,” he said.
“And you’re not thinking enough.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then prove it,” I said, the words slipping out before I could stop them.
For a second, neither of us moved.
The challenge hung there, heavier than it should have been, sharper than I expected.
His gaze dropped to my mouth again.
Slow.
Deliberate.
And this time…
It stayed there.
My pulse jumped.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said.
“Then explain it.”
His hand shifted slightly, not pulling me closer, but not giving me space either.
“I don’t explain things I’m not going to stop.”
My breath caught.
That should have been a warning.
It felt like one.
“You should stop then,” I said.
“You first.”
The words landed softer than I expected.
Worse than I expected.
Because they weren’t pushing me away.
They were pulling me in.
I should have stepped back.
I didn’t.
Instead, I stayed exactly where I was, close enough to feel the heat between us, close enough to notice the way his breathing had changed just slightly, the way his control wasn’t as untouched as it had been before.
That was new.
That was dangerous.
“Adrian,” I said quietly.
It wasn’t a warning.
It wasn’t a question.
It was something else entirely.
His gaze lifted back to mine.
And for a second…
Everything else disappeared.
No room.
No noise.
No expectations.
Just this.
Just him.
Just the decision sitting right there, waiting to be made.
My hand moved before I could stop it.
Up.
Slow.
Resting lightly against his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall beneath my palm.
Not calm.
Not unaffected.
Just controlled.
Always controlled.
“Say something,” I said.
“You don’t want me to.”
That was true.
And not.
“I do.”
“You don’t.”
“Then prove it,” I said again.
The words felt different this time.
Less like a challenge.
More like a step.
Closer.
His hand shifted from my jaw, sliding down just slightly, brushing along my neck in a way that made my breath catch again, sharper this time, more immediate.
“You’re not going to like where this goes,” he said.
“Then stop it.”
“You first.”
That again.
That pull.
That shift.
My grip tightened slightly against his shirt.
I could feel it now.
The line.
Right there.
One step forward.
One step back.
And I was already leaning forward.
His gaze dropped again.
My breath slowed.
Just slightly.
And then—
The door behind us opened.
The sound cut through everything.
Sharp.
Immediate.
The moment snapped.
Just like that.
I pulled back first.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t stay.
Didn’t wait.
The distance between us came back too fast, too sudden, leaving something behind that didn’t settle as easily as I wanted it to.
“Adrian,” a voice called.
Not unfamiliar.
Not casual.
Something else.
I turned.
The woman from earlier stood in the doorway, her gaze moving between us, sharp and observant in a way that made it clear she hadn’t missed anything.
“People are looking for you,” she said.
Her attention shifted to me.
“And her.”
The way she said it made something in my chest tighten again.
Adrian didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
Didn’t step away from me the way he probably should have.
“Give us a minute,” he said.
Her lips pressed together slightly.
Just enough to show she didn’t like that.
But she nodded.
“Don’t take too long.”
Then she was gone.
The door closed.
And the silence came back.
Different this time.
Heavier.
I didn’t look at him right away.
I couldn’t.
Because the moment hadn’t gone away.
It was still there.
Still sitting in my chest, in my thoughts, in the space between us that didn’t feel as distant as it should have.
“That was a bad idea,” I said finally.
“Yes.”
“And you weren’t going to stop it.”
“No.”
I let out a slow breath.
“Good to know.”
His gaze stayed on me.
Steady.
Unmoving.
“You didn’t want me to.”
I looked up at him then.
Held his gaze.
And for the first time since this started…
I didn’t deny it.
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