Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Isla
I scan the innovation lab, pride warming my chest as my team collaborates around the conference table. Sophia, my promising junior architect, leans forward with that familiar fire in her eyes that reminds me of myself at her age.
“Isla, I think I found something.”
Her enthusiasm is contagious.
“What if we approached the project differently? It’s unconventional, but?—“
“The best ideas usually are,” I finish, unable to hide my smile. “Walk me through it.”
The familiar weight of my tablet grounds me as she explains, but my focus keeps drifting to the empty chair at the end of the table. Eli’s chair. Even absent, his presence haunts the room, a ghost with hands that still know every inch of me.
“Isla?” Sophia’s voice pulls me back. “Is that too ambitious?”
“In this division?” I straighten, pushing thoughts of Eli aside. “Ambitious is exactly what we need.”
Marcus opens his mouth to add something, but the lab’s glass doors swing open. Drake strides in, his usual easy smile replaced by tension that makes my stomach drop.
“Sorry to interrupt the genius convention,” he says, but his eyes lock with mine in a way that makes my skin prickle. “Isla, we need to talk. Now.”
The team shifts uncomfortably, picking up on his tone. I keep my voice steady, professional. “Give us fifteen minutes to wrap this up?”
“It really can’t wait.” Drake’s fingers drum against his leg—his tell for genuine worry. “Trust me on this one.”
Shit. I turn to my team, wearing composure like armor despite the chaos beneath. “Take fifteen, everyone. Review your notes. We’ll regroup.”
As they disperse, whispering amongst themselves, I catch Sophia watching me with worried eyes. I give her a reassuring nod before following Drake to my office, my heels clicking against the polished floor in time with my quickening pulse.
“What’s wrong?” I ask the moment my office door closes behind us.
Drake’s expression is grim. “Someone’s targeting us. And not just random competitors—this is sophisticated. Professional.”
The knot in my stomach tightens. “Wolfe?”
“Can’t confirm yet, but...” Drake’s jaw clenches. “The patterns match. And there’s more.”
Before he can continue, IRIS’s subtle chime fills my office.
“Eli is approaching the Innovation Division.”
My heart stutters. Perfect timing, as always.
Drake stops talking as Eli appears in my doorway. My stomach flips—he’s shed his jacket, sleeves rolled up, exposing tanned forearms corded with muscle. He radiates that quiet intensity that’s always been dangerous for my focus. I stare hard at Drake’s tablet instead.
“Don’t stop on my account.” Eli’s voice has that commanding edge that makes my skin warm despite myself. “If someone’s targeting our project, I need to know.”
“Our project?” I can’t stop myself.
His eyes meet mine, something fierce flickering there.
“Always our project, Isla.”
The possessive edge in his voice wraps around me like a physical touch.
Drake clears his throat.
“Right. They’re after the experimental systems we’re installing next week. Timing’s not random.”
“How bad?” Eli moves closer, his arm brushing mine as he leans in.
His cologne envelops me—sandalwood and something darker—and my thoughts scatter like startled birds.
“Bad enough I’m actually worried,” Drake says. “They’re not just poking around. They’re mapping everything. Planning something.”
“When?” Eli asks, still right there beside me. Too close. Not close enough.
“Two days, tops.” Drake’s face darkens. “Just before the Ethics Committee shows up.”
“Shit.” I run my hand through my hair. “If they find anything during inspection?—”
“We’re done,” Eli finishes quietly. “All of this, gone.”
After all this time apart, now everything rides on us working together—my career, his position, this project. All of it.
“We won’t let that happen.” I turn to face him, forgetting how close he is.
Our eyes lock, and for a second, I see past the COO to the man I knew—the one who’d tackle impossible problems with me until dawn. The one who once owned every inch of my body with a single look.
The team’s footsteps echo in the hall. Eli stays where he is, eyes holding mine.
“Then let’s get to work.”
As the team files back in, we shift into crisis mode. Sophia takes charge of the main display while Marcus runs diagnostics. The familiar rhythm of teamwork helps steady my nerves, even with Eli’s presence at the edge of my awareness like a gravitational pull I can’t escape.
“Here’s what we know,” Drake says, keeping his voice low. “They’re looking for weak points. If they find one before the inspection?—“
“They won’t,” Sophia cuts in, her usual hesitation gone. “We’ve triple-checked everything.”
I feel a surge of pride at her confidence. This is what I’ve been building—a team that doesn’t back down.
“What have you discovered?” Eli says, moving closer.
His shoulder brushes mine as he leans in, and I force myself to focus on Sophia’s presentation instead of the heat radiating from him.
“The vulnerable areas would be here and here,” she points, glancing at me for confirmation. “But we’ve already implemented additional?—”
“Hold up,” Drake interrupts, his fingers flying across his keyboard. “Something’s happening. IRIS, can you confirm?”
“Unauthorized access attempt detected,” IRIS announces. “Pattern matches previous incidents.”
“They’re testing us,” I mutter. “Seeing how we react.”
“Then let’s show them.” Eli’s voice carries that quiet authority that used to drive me crazy in the best ways. “Drake, can you trace it?”
“Already on it.” He doesn’t look up from his screen. “But they’re good. Really good.”
I watch my team snap into action—Sophia and Marcus coordinating with Drake while two junior engineers implement protective measures. This is what we’ve trained for, what all those late nights were building toward.
Eli’s hand lands on my lower back, so light I almost think I imagined it. Just his fingertips, but they burn through the silk of my blouse like a brand.
“You’ve built something special here,” he murmurs, just for me.
“They’re ready.”
The warmth of his touch spreads through me, and for a moment, I let myself lean into it. Just for a moment.
“Ms. Carrington?” Sophia calls. “We need your authorization.”
Reality crashes back in. I straighten, missing Eli’s touch immediately.
“Pull it up.”
We’ve got work to do. Everything else—the heat of his hand on my back, the way my skin still tingles where he touches me, the mountain of unspoken history between us—has to wait.
Three hours in, and my office feels like mission control. Screens glow with data while empty coffee cups and takeout containers litter every surface. My team’s still going strong, but exhaustion edges their movements now.
“Got another one,” Drake mutters, fingers flying across his keyboard. “They’re getting creative.”
I lean over his shoulder, frowning at the screen. “Same signature?”
“Yeah, but—” He stops, eyes narrowing. “Shit. This is new.”
“What’s happening?” Eli’s voice comes from right behind me, close enough that I feel his breath on my neck. My skin prickles with awareness.
“They’re changing patterns,” Drake says. “Like they know we’re watching.”
Sophia stifles a yawn from her station, and I glance around at my team. Marcus is blinking hard at his screen, while two junior engineers are practically sleepwalking.
“Take thirty,” I tell them. “Get some air, grab fresh coffee.”
They file out slowly, Sophia shooting me a concerned look before she goes. Drake stretches, his back cracking.
“I should check something in the server room,” he says, not quite hiding his smirk as he heads for the door. “Back in a bit.”
Subtle as a brick, Drake.
The door clicks shut.
Just us now.
The late hour strips away pretense, leaving something raw and dangerous in its place. He’s shed his corporate armor—tie hanging loose, top buttons undone, sleeves rolled to expose tanned forearms. Those glimpses of the man beneath the suit ignite memories my body refuses to forget.
“Your team’s impressive,” he says, but his voice has dropped to that low register that used to keep me up at night. “Loyal.”
“They believe in what we’re building.” I turn back to the screens, needing distance from the heat of his gaze. “They’re worth believing in.”
“Like you believed in me once?”
My hands freeze over the keyboard. He moves closer, and I can feel the heat radiating from his body, smell the lingering notes of his cologne mixed with coffee. My heart pounds against my ribs.
“Eli—”
“Look at me.” His voice is soft but demanding, stirring memories of other times he’s used that tone. In bed. Against walls. On his desk.
“Please.”
I turn, and suddenly there’s no air in the room. He’s right there, close enough that I can see the stubble darkening his jaw, count the flecks of gold in his blue eyes. His presence overwhelms my senses, awakening parts of me I’ve buried beneath years of careful distance.
“Why did you really leave?”
A wave of dread washes over me at the question I’ve been avoiding. In the dim light of my office, with the city glittering beyond the windows and exhaustion lowering my defenses, everything feels too raw, too real.
His eyes drop to my lips. The room shrinks to nothing but this—him, me, and the memory of how he used to claim my mouth like a man possessed.
His hand comes up, fingers brushing my cheek, and my entire body locks up.
Don’t surrender. Not after everything.
But his touch is too familiar, too easy to fall into. A shiver rolls down my spine, not from fear, but from memory.
Once, I would’ve closed the space between us without hesitation. I almost do now.
His thumb ghosts over my lower lip, and my breath catches. I swear I hear his pulse hammering as hard as mine.
“Eli…” His name is barely a sound, more of a plea. I don’t even know what I’m asking for.
He leans in. So close. Just one more breath and?—
IRIS’s chime shatters the moment.
“Priority alert. Multiple breach attempts detected.”
I jerk back like I’ve been burned. My heart is a riot in my chest, and Eli looks just as affected, his eyes dark with something primal, something possessive.
“Damn it.” I jerk away, spinning back to the screens as warnings flash red, but my body still hums with unfinished heat. “Drake!”
“Already on it!” His voice carries from the hallway. “They’re hitting everything at once!”
Eli’s already reaching for his phone, calling the team back, but our eyes meet briefly in the chaos. The question still burns in his gaze, along with something darker, more primal. But we both know it’ll have to wait.
Some things never change. We’ve always had spectacularly bad timing.
But as I watch him command the room, I can still feel the phantom press of his body against mine, the almost-kiss burning on my lips. The wall between us—built of pride, history, and restraint—grows thinner by the second.
And when it finally shatters, there won’t be anything left standing in the aftermath.