Vanessa was coming back.
The words echoed in my head long after Adrian ended the call.
I stood frozen against the wall, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. My lips still tingled from his kiss, my body still remembered the way he'd held me like he never wanted to let go, and now reality crashed down with brutal force.
My sister was returning to this house.
To him.
Adrian lowered his phone slowly, his expression unreadable, carved from stone once more. The man who had kissed me like he was starving seconds ago was already retreating behind the cold mask he wore so well.
"She'll be back tomorrow night," he said.
Tomorrow.
That wasn't enough time.
It wasn't enough distance.
It wasn't enough to erase what had just happened.
"I should go," I whispered, pushing myself off the wall.
He didn't stop me.
That hurt more than I expected.
I walked away before he could see the tears burning my eyes.
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I felt his mouth on mine again, felt the heat of his body pressed against me, the restrained hunger in his touch. My conscience screamed at me, but my body refused to listen.
By morning, I was exhausted, restless, and dangerously aware of every sound in the mansion.
Adrian was already awake.
I could sense him even before I saw him, like gravity pulling me in. When I entered the kitchen, he stood by the counter, sleeves rolled up, tie discarded, dark hair slightly undone.
He looked… lethal.
And tired.
Our eyes met.
The air shifted instantly.
"Good morning," he said, his voice neutral.
Too neutral.
"Morning," I replied, keeping my gaze low.
Silence stretched between us, thick with everything we weren't saying.
He poured himself coffee, his movements precise, controlled. Watching him like this, so composed, so untouchable, made last night feel unreal.
Like a dream I wasn't supposed to remember.
But when he passed me the sugar bowl, his fingers brushed mine.
The contact was brief.
Electric.
I sucked in a sharp breath.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Don't," he murmured under his breath. "Not here."
My cheeks burned.
I hated how easily he could unravel me with a single word.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
I tried to keep busy, cleaning, organizing, pretending I was just a guest passing through, but everywhere I went, I felt his presence. Like he was watching me without looking, aware of me without acknowledging it.
By evening, the tension was unbearable.
A storm rolled in after sunset, thunder rattling the windows, rain lashing against the glass. The mansion felt isolated, cut off from the world.
Dangerously private.
I was in the living room when the power flickered.
Then went out completely.
I gasped.
Before I could move, footsteps approached.
"Ariana," Adrian called.
"I'm here."
He found me by the fireplace, his phone casting dim light over his face. Shadows carved his features sharper, darker.
"We should stay here," he said. "Until the generator kicks in."
I nodded, suddenly aware of how close we were again.
Too close.
Thunder boomed overhead.
The lights stayed off.
Minutes passed.
Neither of us moved.
The storm raged outside, but inside, the silence grew heavy, charged.
"You should hate me," I said quietly.
Adrian turned to me.
"I don't."
The word landed hard.
"You're my sister's husband," I reminded him. "You shouldn't even look at me the way you do."
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
"I've tried not to."
That honesty terrified me.
"You kissed me," I whispered.
He stepped closer.
"So did you."
My back hit the couch.
My pulse raced.
"This ends tonight," I said, though my voice shook.
He leaned in, bracing his hands on either side of me again, trapping me, surrounding me, making it impossible to breathe.
"I've spent years feeling nothing," he said softly. "Then you walked into this house… and suddenly everything feels too much."
My heart ached.
"You don't mean that."
"I do."
His fingers brushed my cheek, slow, reverent.
I should have pulled away.
I didn't.
The space between us vanished.
His lips hovered over mine, not touching, just close enough to drive me insane.
"If I kiss you again," he murmured, "I won't stop."
Thunder cracked.
The lights flickered back on.
Reality snapped into place.
Adrian stepped back instantly, hands falling to his sides.
"We can't," he said roughly.
I nodded, my body screaming in protest.
"I know."
But knowing didn't make it easier.
That night, alone in my room, I pressed my fingers to my lips and wondered how something that felt so right could be so wrong.
I told myself I would leave soon.
Before Vanessa returned.
Before things went further.
Before I lost myself completely.
I didn't know then that it was already too late.
Because downstairs, Adrian stood in the dark, staring up at my door like a man who had already decided,
He wasn't letting me go.