Chapter 5 #2
"We're figuring it out," I say finally. "Like any couple would."
Her eyes widen slightly at the word couple, and I realize my slip immediately. We're not a couple. We're a contractual arrangement with excellent sexual chemistry and an expiration date.
"Right," she says, gathering her coat. "Figuring it out."
I follow her out of the office, acutely aware of the staff's curious glances as we pass. Everyone knows who I am, the CEO who swept their colleague off her feet in a whirlwind holiday romance. The story we've crafted is working perfectly.
So why does it suddenly feel insufficient?
The Harbor Arts Collective is transformed for the evening glass-blowing event.
Twinkling lights hang from the rafters, Marigold's holiday wreaths scent the air, and a small crowd of Starlight Bay's most influential residents mill about, sipping mulled wine and eyeing the hot shop where tonight's demonstration will take place.
"The mayor's here," Charlie murmurs, nodding toward the refreshment table. "And the editor of the Gazette."
"Good," I respond automatically, though my attention is more focused on how the lights catch the golden highlights in her hair than on our strategic publicity goals. "Anthony said a photographer from Travel not rushed, not teasing, just deep, steady, connected. Like talking without words. Like saying, I'm here. I'm yours. Her hands roam my back, nails scratching lightly, her body curving upward to meet me again and again, desperate and rhythmic, matched to the breath we share.
We never look away.
That eye contact, the rawness of it, is unbearable in the best way. She’s giving me everything in that gaze. Trust. Desire. Fear. Need. And I give it all back, each movement of my body a promise I’ve never made before.
"Stay with me," I whisper, feeling her tremble, her muscles tightening around me. "Let me see you."
She nods, unable to speak. Her lips part, her back arches, and then she comes undone, shattering beneath me, gasping my name like it’s salvation. And watching her fall apart, knowing she wanted me to see it, unravels me completely.