The quiet atmosphere surrounding the penthouse lingered long after lunch ended.
Sunlight poured through the towering glass windows in warm golden streams, stretching across the polished marble floors and reflecting faintly against the steel accents of the kitchen. Outside, Manhattan remained alive beneath the afternoon sky, restless and loud in the distance, yet inside the penthouse, everything still felt strangely suspended.
Like time itself had slowed.
Maya remained seated at the dining table for several seconds after finishing her meal, pretending to focus on the half-empty glass in front of her while trying unsuccessfully to ignore Rege's presence beside her.
It was impossible.
Everything about him demanded awareness.
The sound of his chair shifting softly against the floor pulled her attention upward immediately.
Without saying a word, Rege gathered both their plates and carried them toward the kitchen.
Maya blinked.
"You really do not have to do that," she said quickly, standing halfway from her seat.
Rege did not even glance back.
As though there was nothing unusual about a man like him washing dishes in someone else's penthouse kitchen.
Maya folded her arms beneath her chest and leaned lightly against the edge of the dining table while watching him.
Again.
Unfortunately.
The kitchen suited him far too much.
His sleeves remained rolled slightly beneath his elbows, exposing strong forearms that moved with controlled precision beneath the warm afternoon light. Water streamed steadily from the faucet while soft clinking sounds filled the quiet space between them.
Nothing about him appeared forced.
Not even this.
Maya exhaled softly through her nose.
Dangerous man.
Rege washed the dishes efficiently before drying his hands carefully with a white tissue towel. The second he turned around, his gaze immediately found Maya standing several feet away.
And just like that—
Everything shifted again.
Silence wrapped around them heavily.
Their eyes locked.
Neither of them looked away.
Something invisible seemed to tighten slowly in the space between them, pulling the air thinner with every passing second.
Maya's breathing slowed unconsciously.
Her body leaned toward him before she even realized it.
Just slightly.
Barely noticeable.
But Rege noticed.
Of course he did.
His jaw tightened almost immediately as something dark and restrained flickered behind his eyes.
Maya's fingers curled tightly against the fabric of her dress.
The atmosphere suddenly felt too warm.
Too close.
Too intimate.
She pressed her nails sharply into her palms beneath the table, grounding herself painfully enough to snap out of whatever dangerous haze had begun pulling her toward him.
Her lashes fluttered quickly before she turned her head away.
Rege watched the movement carefully.
"You need to take your drugs."
The words should have sounded instructional.
Instead, his deep voice wrapped around them softly, carrying a quiet gentleness that affected her far more than authority ever could.
Maya rolled her eyes immediately to hide her reaction.
"Right," she muttered under her breath.
She turned and headed toward her bedroom without another word.
Rege followed behind her silently.
The sound of their footsteps echoed softly through the hallway while afternoon light stretched across the walls in pale gold reflections. Maya could feel him behind her the entire time without looking back once.
That awareness alone made her pulse restless.
They entered her room quietly.
The scent of roses still lingered faintly beneath the cleaner fragrance of fresh linen and sunlight. The curtains remained partially open now, allowing warm daylight to spill across the cream-colored furniture and soft blankets scattered across the bed.
Maya walked toward her dresser immediately before pulling open the drawer where her medication remained neatly arranged.
Behind her, Rege reached for the glass jar resting on the small table beside the sofa near the wall. He poured water carefully into the glass beside it before walking toward her.
Maya turned around at the exact moment he extended the glass toward her.
For a second, she simply stared at him.
Not because of the water.
Because of him.
No one had ever done something so simple for her with such quiet attentiveness before.
Rege remained still, waiting patiently.
Maya accepted the glass slowly.
"Thank you," she murmured almost absentmindedly.
She swallowed the medication before drinking the rest of the water while Rege watched her closely, ensuring she finished everything properly before taking the empty glass from her hand.
The brief brush of his fingers against hers sent warmth rushing unexpectedly through her chest.
Maya sat carefully on the edge of the bed afterward, trying desperately to steady herself internally.
Rege placed the glass back onto the table before leaning casually against the nearby wall.
Or at least—
He appeared casual.
But Maya was beginning to realize something terrifying.
Rege was never careless.
Even stillness felt deliberate with him.
The room gradually fell quiet again.
Maya lowered her gaze toward her hands resting in her lap while loose strands of dirty blonde hair escaped around her face from the messy bun she had tied earlier.
Rege watched her silently.
Intently.
Something about seeing her like this affected him far more than it should have.
No pretense.
No performance.
Just Maya.
Soft sunlight brushed against her skin gently while her lashes rested lowered against her cheeks, shielding those bright expressive eyes that seemed capable of dismantling every layer of control he possessed.
He should have looked away.
Instead—
He kept staring.
And before restraint could return fully—
"You are so beautiful."
The words slipped out quietly.
Barely above a whisper.
But the second they left him, the atmosphere in the room shifted completely.
Maya's head snapped upward instantly.
Her eyes widened as they locked onto his face.
Rege's jaw clenched so tightly it bordered on painful.
Because that had not been meant to leave his thoughts.
Not aloud.
Never aloud.
Yet there it was now.
Hanging heavily between them.
Raw.
Sincere.
Maya blinked rapidly.
Once.
Twice.
Several times.
Her heart hammered violently against her ribs as she stared at him in stunned silence.
There had been no teasing in his voice.
No flirtation.
Nothing careless.
Only truth.
Pure and devastatingly direct.
"What—"
The word barely formed before dying inside her throat.
Because Rege was still looking at her.
Still holding her gaze with an intensity so overwhelming it almost stole the ability to think properly.
Maya forgot how to breathe evenly.
The room suddenly felt unbearably warm around them.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Outside the windows, New York continued endlessly beyond the glass, unaware that something dangerous was unfolding quietly inside that bedroom.
Sweat gathered faintly along Maya's forehead despite the cool temperature surrounding the penthouse.
Still—
She could not look away from him.
Rege looked no better.
His restraint stretched visibly thinner with every passing second as he watched her stare back at him with parted lips and flushed cheeks.
The silence deepened.
Tighter.
Heavier.
Until—
A sharp ringtone shattered through the room.
Maya startled visibly.
Rege's jaw hardened immediately in annoyance.
Without breaking eye contact with her, he reached into his pocket, silenced the call, and shoved the phone back inside again.
Still staring at her.
Maya lowered her head quickly afterward, finally breaking the unbearable intensity between them.
Rege inhaled slowly through his nose.
Control.
He needed control.
He reached into his pocket again, retrieving a neatly folded dark handkerchief before crossing the space between them.
Maya's pulse quickened instantly.
Rege stopped directly in front of her.
Close enough that she could feel his warmth surrounding her completely.
Then gently—
Unexpectedly gently—
He placed his finger beneath her chin and lifted her face toward him.
Maya's breath caught.
Rege carefully wiped the faint sweat from her forehead with slow deliberate movements.
His touch contrasted everything about him.
His sharp features.
His dangerous presence.
His cold reputation.
None of those things matched the tenderness in his hands now.
Maya's eyes darted everywhere except toward his face.
The wall.
The curtains.
The floor.
Anywhere but him.
Rege noticed immediately.
And strangely—
He disliked it.
He wanted her looking at him again.
Wanted those bright expressive eyes fixed on him the way they had been moments earlier.
The realization unsettled him deeply.
Yet he did nothing to stop it.
When he finished wiping her forehead, his hand lingered near her face longer than necessary.
His gaze remained fixed on her.
Maya felt entirely trapped beneath it.
Not frightened.
Never frightened.
Just overwhelmed.
Then—
The phone rang again.
This time, the sharp sound sliced through whatever fragile control remained inside Rege.
He stepped back slowly before retrieving the phone once more.
"Answer it," Maya murmured softly, finally looking at him again. "It might be important."
Her thick British accent wrapped around the words gently.
Rege nodded once.
Then he looked down at the caller ID.
Instant irritation crossed his expression.
James.
His nostrils flared subtly before he answered sharply, "I told you I am unavailable today."
A brief silence followed.
Then James spoke carefully from the other side.
"Pardon me, Sir, but there is a problem with the Henson contract that requires your immediate attention."
Rege's jaw clenched immediately.
Of course there was.
Problems never stopped.
Work never paused.
Responsibility never loosened its grip on him for long.
He ended the call abruptly without another word.
For several seconds, silence settled heavily across the room once more.
Then Rege exhaled quietly.
The tension in his expression softened slightly before he looked back toward Maya.
"Krasota," he said softly, "would you like to see my space?"
The question sounded less like a request and more like a quiet decision already made.
Maya stared at him blankly for a second.
His space.
His world.
The thought alone sent nervous warmth spreading through her chest again.
But the truth was—
If Rege asked her to follow him anywhere right now, she probably would.
And that realization terrified her slightly.
Still dazed from everything that had happened moments earlier, Maya nodded absentmindedly.
And unexpectedly—
Rege smiled.
Not faintly.
Not briefly.
A real smile.
Small.
Warm.
Disarming enough to steal her breath instantly.
Maya genuinely forgot how to breathe.
Because nothing could have prepared her for what a real smile from Rege looked like.
It transformed him entirely.
The sharpness softened.
The cold restraint faded just enough to reveal something devastating beneath it.
Something warm.
Something dangerously human.
Maya stared helplessly.
And for the first time since meeting him—
Rege looked happy.