ite smile I gave felt like a mask stretched too tight. My mind wasn't in that ballroom anymore. It was on the

've already deci

exchanged a handful of words, yet it felt as thou

side the hotel brushed against my skin as I stepped to the curb, heels clicking against st

hol

ut his posture relaxed, deliberate told me it wasn't coincidence. I froze. The smart choice would have been to get into my ca

ing more steadiness than I felt."And you," he said smoothl

ticed it before a detail out of place on someone who seemed otherwise untouchable. "What do you want f

lenting. "That depends. Do you want the

stuttered

he air thickening between us. "I want what everyone in that ballroom pretends they don

rd. "And you t

omething intimate, "that you've spent too long pr

ngerous than any touch. I wanted to deny him, to

of glass breaking somewhere down the street. My head whipped toward t

y watching, his body tense, eyes scanni

fast, reaching for the car door. "You

. My chest tightened, breath ca

time, his composure faltered, if only for a heartbeat. Then

e standing on the curb, heart

to the night, more to m

las Ha

h settled heavy inside me - whatever world