Isabella focused intently on the documents in front of her, determined to block out the heat of Alexander's gaze. The room felt impossibly small, the air heavy with unspoken tension. Every word he spoke, every movement he made, sent jolts of electricity through her. But she couldn't let herself get distracted—not now.
She reached for the pen, her fingers brushing against his as she picked it up. It was a small, insignificant gesture, but the jolt of contact sent a shiver down her spine. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she couldn't help but glance up at him.
His eyes were already on hers.
The flicker of something between them was undeniable, like a flame ready to ignite. The atmosphere in the room had shifted, gone from professional to something… more. She couldn't deny it anymore—there was a magnetic pull between them, something powerful that neither of them could escape.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them, suffocating and thick. Isabella's heart raced, the beat so loud she thought he could hear it.
Without thinking, her gaze dropped to his lips. She had noticed their sharpness before, their precise movements when he spoke. But now, they seemed to beckon her—calling her closer.
"Ms. Harper," Alexander said softly, his voice low. "Do you know what you're really playing at?"
Isabella's eyes snapped back to his, and she opened her mouth to respond, but the words never came. Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward—just a little—and her lips brushed against his.
It was a mistake. A brief, innocent touch. But it was enough.
The air around them seemed to charge with electricity, and time seemed to stretch and then stop completely. Isabella pulled back quickly, her face burning with embarrassment. What had she done?
"I… I'm sorry," she stammered, looking anywhere but at him. The words felt hollow, inadequate.
But Alexander didn't look angry. In fact, his gaze softened, though his jaw tightened in a way that made her realize how dangerous this moment really was. His voice, when it came, was low and controlled, but there was something raw beneath the surface.
"Don't apologize," he said, his tone almost a whisper. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."
The words sent a strange flutter through her chest, but before she could respond, he took a step closer, his presence overwhelming her. The air between them crackled, charged with unspoken understanding. Isabella's heart raced, her mind a blur of confusion and desire.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to break the tension, but Alexander was faster. He reached out, gently cupping her chin, and tilted her face up to meet his gaze.
"This doesn't change anything," he murmured, his thumb brushing lightly over her lips—the very lips that had just betrayed her thoughts. "But it does change everything."
And before she could stop him, before she could tell him that this was all a mistake, he leaned in again, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that was nothing like the first. This wasn't an accident. It wasn't a fleeting moment. It was deliberate, controlled, and as much as Isabella tried to resist, she found herself pulled into it.
The kiss deepened, and Isabella's mind went blank. She could feel the weight of everything they had just begun—of everything that was still left unsaid—crashing down around her. She had crossed a line, and she couldn't take it back.
When they finally pulled apart, the world seemed to tilt, the room spinning around her. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog in her mind.
Alexander's eyes were darker now, filled with something intense and unreadable. He didn't move away from her, though. His hand still lingered on her chin, his thumb gently grazing her skin as if he were trying to memorize the feel of her.
"I hope you understand," he said softly, his voice almost a growl. "There's no going back now."
Isabella swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling rapidly with the weight of the moment. She wasn't sure what was happening—whether this was a game to him or something more. All she knew was that she had just made her biggest mistake yet.
And yet… she couldn't bring herself to regret it.