aper, but between the lines of a

ne and rich wood. Elena stood near the edge of the crowd, her hands clasped around a slim champagne flute, though s

little too loudly. His suit fit like a tailored secret-charcoal gray, crisp white shirt, no tie, just th

should've been floating. But her chest was heavy with everything unspoken between them. Since Veronica's visit, they

voice said

Julian's gaze moved over her slowly, deliberately, fr

stepping close. "All of

you. You're the reas

e said, voice low, "but yo

l, Julian. Flattery sounds

. "I never say anyt

. She felt it-the charge, the shift, the inevitability. And then s

aying goodbye," he mur

se-or a

miling at compliments and fielding praise, all while her body remained too aware of his presence. She'd feel it bef

her a check and a thank-you. Another client requested her card

le

tu

Alone. His eyes darker now, voi

nked. "

ded, reading her hesitat

ld've. But something about his gaze held her still, something that said

he n

s that revealed a slice of the sleeping city. Julian poured two glasse

ake chaos look like art,"

ooding men who hid

arded. His head tipped back slightly, throat exposed, laughte

iting. She spoke about building her business from scratch. They shared quiet laught

down beside his. His fingers li

le

look

her cheek, fing

me to

di

isse

not of desperation but of control. His lips moved over hers like he'd

ees brushing his. His hand slid into her hair as he deepened th

breathless, he rested h

ispered. "Jus

er eyes. Her w

ght," s

hey both

houlders, inch by inch, until the fabric slipped to the floor in a whisper. His eyes didn't devour-n

murmured, as his lips fou

. "Because I make you feel

she br

a secret passage he planned to memorize. And then he kissed her again-deeper

ty shadows stretching across the room like ghosts. He undressed with

t a surge of heat through her. But it wasn't just lust that curled in her be

ation, not a demand. He kissed her thighs slowly, dragging his mouth higher until her hips arched to m

pered, her voice b

e held her there,

s locked onto hers, she pulled

of you," she

ming fullness of it. Of him. Of this moment. Julian groaned against her nec

idn't

idn't

a sentence in a language they'd been aching to speak. Their bodies told t

n each other, it wasn't just sweat that coated their

raced lazy lines o

this," he

I," she wh

, she did

ither

breathing. Inside, ever