Afternoon sun streamed through the office windows, casting shadows across the office furniture and equipment. This is where Lia was seated with fidgeting fingers clasping a pen. Thoughts were racing through that head, and every path ended with him—Leo Grant. His dark eyes and broad shoulders and the fire that burned beneath his cold demeanor. Yet the fire was dangerous, the kind that sent her pulse racing and sent a ball of tight knots into her stomach.
Leo came in quietly, as if he sensed she wanted a moment alone, but her heart betrayed her before she even had a chance to see him. His shadow appeared on her desk, dark and looming, making the room seem to contract.
"Lia," he said softly, deliberately, "you haven't been speaking all afternoon."
She swallowed, fighting to compose herself. "Just thinking," she said.
He raised an eyebrow. "About work?"
Her eyes locked with his, and for a brief moment, the professional barriers came down. "Not exactly," she said, her voice little more than a whisper.
Leo's eyes eased, but there was still a tension between them, the sort of tension that betrayed he was withholding far more than just words. He leaned against her desk, close enough that she could feel the heat emanating from him. "Tell me," he encouraged, "what's troubling you?"
She could hear the rapid beating of her own heart. Was she ready to tell him the truth? Did she dare? The emotions storming inside of her—fear, desire, confusion, and something else—were a tangled mess. But the truth had to be told. "I … I don't know how I feel," she said. "I think I understand what's going on between us, but then something happens and it changes. I want to believe in you, but …"
"But you're scared," he surmised, a slight edge to his tone. "Scared of what this could mean… scared of what I am."
"Yes," she breathed softly. Her eyes searched his face with vulnerability and naked emotion. "I'm afraid of losing myself, Leo. Of getting too close and getting hurt."
He moved closer, his fingers touching hers. He took another step. He reached out, and his fingers brushed against hers. "Lia, listen. The truth is. I feel it too. I want you. But I know the risks. I know it won't be easy."
Her chest was squeezing, with every instinct urging her to move towards him, to close the distance, but her mind was full of warnings. This was not just an attraction but a meeting of two hearts racing through a storm of fear, trust, and desire.
Just as she was about to answer, her mobile phone suddenly buzzed harshly on her desk. She looked at it with horror as her blood ran cold with fright.
"They're moving tonight. Be ready. Don't trust anyone."
Lia looked up to Leo, whose jaw had clenched in response to his racing thoughts.
Author's Note:
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