Chapter 71
Chapter 71:
He took a step closer. Eliza took a step back. Her calves met the edge of the sofa. She was trapped.
“About that progress report,” he murmured. He set his glass down on the coffee table behind him without looking away from her. Then he placed his hands on the back of the sofa, one on either side of her hips, and caged her in.
Eliza could smell the wine on his breath, layered beneath the clean scent of his skin. He was overwhelming — a wall of heat and intent. He leaned in, his nose brushing slowly along her jawline in a deliberate inhale.
“I missed you today,” he admitted.
The vulnerability in his voice was more startling than his physical presence. It wasn’t a line. It was a fact.
Eliza’s breath caught. In the car, she had been bold. But here, with him surrounding her, with the full weight of his attention focused solely on her, a wave of overwhelmed shyness crashed over her — not fear of him, but the sudden, stunning reality of their new dynamic.
𝘋𝗈𝘸n𝘭𝗈𝖺𝖽𝘢𝖻𝗅e 𝖯DF𝘴 on 𝗴а𝗹ո𝗼vеl𝘴.𝖼𝗈m
She wasn’t ready to be consumed. Not yet.
She ducked under his right arm. It was a scramble, entirely without grace.
“I — I need a shower!” she blurted, backing toward the stairs. “Office germs! I was touching old files all day p>
It was a terrible excuse. She knew it. He knew it. But it was the only shield she could grab in that moment.
She sprinted up the stairs, abandoning her wine glass on the side table without looking back.
Dallas stood in the living room, his hands still resting on the back of the sofa where she had been seconds before. He watched her flee.
A slow, dark smile spread across his face.
He picked up the glass she had abandoned and turned it in his hand until he found the faint smudge of her lipstick on the rim. He brought it to his lips and drank from the exact spot she had touched.
“Run, Eliza,” he whispered to the empty room. “I enjoy the chase p>
The kitchen at 6:00 AM was a study in grey and steel.
Eliza entered quietly, hoping to grab a coffee and slip out before Dallas woke up. She needed time to recalibrate after the panic of the night before. She had hidden in the shower for forty minutes, scrubbing her skin until it was pink, and by the time she emerged, Dallas had retreated to his study with the door closed.
She tiptoed across the tile.
“Good morning p>
The voice came from the direction of the espresso machine.
Eliza startled. Dallas was already there, leaning against the counter, watching dark liquid drip into a cup. He wore grey sweatpants that hung low on his hips and a black t-shirt pulled tight across his shoulders. Eliza froze for a moment, her mind struggling to reconcile this man with the corporate predator in tailored suits. This version of him looked domestic, unhurried, and somehow more dangerous in his unguarded state.
“Did you scrub off all the germs?” he asked without turning.