Sit On My Lap
After the photo leaked, Adrian stopped pretending.
Not publicly.
Not privately.
Not at all.
And somehow—
that became more dangerous than the obsession itself.
Because before, there had still been restraint.
A line.
Now?
Now Adrian looked at Lia openly.
Touched her openly.
Stood too close in hallways without caring who noticed.
And the terrifying part?
Lia let him.
—
Three days after the picture spread across campus, Blackthorne hosted another faculty networking event.
Which honestly sounded like punishment disguised as professionalism.
Lia only attended because Professor Hale practically threatened participation grades.
"You look stressed," Sienna observed while fixing Lia's hair in the bathroom mirror.
"I wonder why."
"Probably because your emotionally possessive billionaire boyfriend keeps staring at you during lectures like he's planning crimes."
Lia looked up immediately.
"He is not my boyfriend."
Sienna paused.
Then slowly blinked.
"...Did he know that?"
Lia opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Because honestly?
She wasn't sure anymore.
Adrian acted like they belonged to each other already.
And maybe the scariest part—
part of her had stopped resisting the idea.
Sienna noticed her silence instantly.
"Oh my god."
"Stop looking at me like that."
"You're gone," Sienna whispered dramatically. "Emotionally gone."
Before Lia could defend herself, the bathroom door opened again.
Several girls from the business department walked inside laughing quietly.
One noticed Lia immediately.
Then her expression shifted.
Interest.
Recognition.
Whispering followed seconds later.
Lia's stomach tightened automatically.
Sienna rolled her eyes.
"People seriously need hobbies."
But the whispers followed Lia all night anyway.
Across the ballroom.
Past crowded tables and faculty conversations.
Everywhere she walked, she felt eyes following her.
Not because of her.
Because of Adrian.
Or more specifically—
because of the way Adrian looked at her.
Lia noticed it too.
From the second she entered the ballroom.
Adrian stood near the back beside several investors and university executives.
Black suit.
Dark tie tonight.
One hand holding a glass untouched while the other rested loosely inside his pocket.
Power radiated from him effortlessly.
And the moment he saw Lia—
his entire attention shifted.
Gone.
The conversation around him disappeared instantly.
One of the executives kept talking.
Adrian didn't even glance away from her.
The intensity of it nearly made her lose balance emotionally.
Sienna physically grabbed her arm.
"There should genuinely be laws against the way that man looks at you."
Lia swallowed carefully.
Because tonight felt different.
Worse somehow.
Adrian's gaze moved slowly over her appearance.
Black satin dress.
Bare shoulders.
Hair falling loosely down her back.
The expression on his face darkened immediately.
Not anger.
Something far more dangerous.
Possession.
Raw and immediate.
Heat rushed into Lia's chest.
And somehow—
Adrian noticed even that from across the room.
Of course he did.
He started walking toward her slowly.
People moved aside automatically.
The atmosphere shifted around him instinctively.
Like everyone could feel the tension before he even arrived.
Sienna leaned closer dramatically.
"I'm leaving before he says something that changes your brain chemistry."
Traitor.
Absolute traitor.
Lia barely had time to glare before Sienna disappeared into the crowd completely.
Then Adrian stopped directly in front of her.
Too close already.
Always too close.
His eyes remained fixed on her face for several long seconds.
"You wore this for me."
Her pulse stumbled instantly.
"That's a very confident assumption."
"It wasn't a question."
God.
Lia looked away quickly.
Mistake.
Adrian's fingers brushed lightly beneath her chin, guiding her attention back toward him.
Gentle.
Possessive.
Enough to make breathing difficult.
"You keep doing that."
"What?"
"Looking away when you know I'm affected by you."
The honesty nearly destroyed her composure.
Because Adrian looked affected tonight.
Badly.
His control seemed thinner somehow.
More fragile beneath the surface.
Lia swallowed carefully.
"You're staring again."
"You're wearing satin."
"That is not a normal response."
"No," Adrian murmured quietly.
His eyes lowered briefly toward her mouth.
"You stopped getting normal reactions from me a long time ago."
Warmth flooded straight through her chest.
Dangerous warmth.
The ballroom suddenly felt too crowded.
Too loud.
Too warm.
Adrian noticed immediately.
"You're overwhelmed."
"There are like two hundred people here staring at us."
"They're staring at you."
"That does not help."
A faint flicker crossed his face.
Then Adrian's hand settled against the small of her back naturally.
Like instinct.
"Come with me."
Lia frowned softly.
"That sounded suspicious."
"It wasn't."
Which somehow made it more suspicious.
Still—
she followed him anyway.
Because apparently self-preservation no longer existed around Adrian Monteverde.
He guided her through the ballroom toward a quieter lounge area overlooking the city skyline.
Dim lighting.
Soft jazz music drifting from downstairs.
Almost empty except for a few executives near the far side.
The second they reached the secluded seating area, Adrian loosened his tie slightly.
And Lia physically stopped functioning for a second.
Because that should not have been attractive.
At all.
Adrian noticed immediately.
His eyes darkened.
"You reacted to that."
"No, I didn't."
"You stopped breathing."
Heat rushed violently into her face.
"You are impossible."
"And you keep staring at me when you think I won't notice."
The tension between them thickened instantly.
Adrian sat down slowly against one of the velvet couches, gaze never leaving her once.
Then quietly—
dangerously quietly—
he said:
"Come here."
Her heartbeat stumbled.
"...What?"
His eyes held hers steadily.
"Sit on my lap before I lose patience."
The words wrapped tightly around her spine.
Possessive.
Controlled.
Like a command disguised as calmness.
Lia stared at him in disbelief.
"You cannot say things like that in public."
"This isn't public."
"There are literally people behind you."
"They can't hear us."
That somehow did not help.
At all.
Adrian leaned back slightly against the couch, watching her carefully now.
Waiting.
Not forcing.
But the dark look in his eyes made her pulse turn uneven anyway.
"You're staring again," she whispered softly.
"You're nervous."
"You just told me to sit on your lap."
"You thought about doing it."
The truth of that nearly killed her emotionally.
Because yes.
For one horrifying second—
she absolutely had.
Adrian noticed the realization crossing her face instantly.
His composure cracked slightly afterward.
A sharp inhale.
Jaw tightening.
Like seeing her want him affected him physically.
Then softly—
rougher this time—
"Lia."
The way he said her name made warmth spread through her entire body.
Dangerous warmth.
The kind that made smart choices disappear slowly.
And maybe the worst part?
She took one step closer anyway.