YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE.
"Not tonight."
My words hung heavy between us.
Like a provocation.
A faint attempt at a smile barely moved his lips.
And though his expression didn't change, something in him did.
As if a string had been pulled too tight.
"I don't like being left halfway," he said at last.
His voice was low.
He tried to keep it controlled, but underneath there was a reproach.
The tension was thick in the air.
Mixed with the scent of leather and his damn cologne.
A flash of lightning illuminated everything.
Through the open curtains of the large window.
But we remained unmoved.
At least on the surface.
I ran my tongue over my lips.
"Then you shouldn't have asked me to," I whispered finally.
Something different sparked in his eyes.
We were too close.
I kept feeling the heat of his body.
More alive.
Even through the damp fabric.
My breathing slowed.
Conscious.
Deliberate.
But he said nothing.
He just… lowered his gaze.
This time without hiding it.
He traced my neck.
My collarbone.
He lingered a second too long on the top button of my blouse.
A shiver ran through my body.
I didn't know if he saw it.
But then his eyes returned to mine, and this time there was a smile.
That smile.
Crooked.
Without warmth.
Full of secrets.
My fingers dug harder into the desk.
"You came prepared," he murmured.
I didn't answer.
Because it was true.
"You always are," he added, as if thinking out loud.
There it was again.
That undefined feeling.
He wasn't reacting.
He was remembering.
"How many times?" he asked suddenly.
I bit my lower lip hard.
"Does it matter?"
"I'm interested," he corrected.
"But you must already know…"
He shook his head slowly.
I smiled.
He shook his head again, even slower this time.
"Not all of them," he confessed.
"Enough for you to stop pretending this surprises you," I shot back.
His eyes locked onto mine again.
Fixed.
With that darkness that swallowed me whole.
"Why did you pretend not to know?"
"I never pretended," he said.
My pulse quickened.
"Then what were you doing?" I asked.
He took his time.
As if choosing every word so none would be wasted.
"I was deciding…" he answered, "…whether you were worth it."
The blow landed clean.
But I didn't step back.
I moved a little closer.
Almost unconsciously.
Close enough to invade his space.
Close enough that we nearly touched.
"And?" I murmured.
His jaw tightened even more.
I felt his fingers scrape the wood near mine.
"I still don't know."
"Liar."
I raised my hand.
Slowly.
Without touching him, I stopped an inch from his chest.
"If I weren't worth it…" I whispered,
"…you would have stopped me already."
He didn't answer.
My finger brushed the fabric of his shirt.
A minimal contact.
Intentional.
Bold.
His breathing changed.
His eyes crashed into mine.
But he didn't pull away.
And that was enough.
"You're crossing a line," his tone sounded like a warning.
At this point, I wasn't going to stop.
"I crossed it a long time ago."
His gaze dropped to the spot where I was touching him.
Then returned to me.
And this time, a decision took shape in his pupils.
"You're not the only one," he murmured.
The world stopped for a second.
Not out of jealousy.
But curiosity surged through me.
"No?" I asked softly. "Is there someone special?"
Then he took a step back, breaking the contact.
Too soon.
"No," he repeated. "You're not, and you won't be, the only one." A pause. "But you are the only one who thinks she has control."
There.
That was the first real challenge.
My smile after that was slow.
Dangerous.
I sat on the desk and held his gaze.
"Then… take it from me."
He seemed not to understand at first, and I smiled wider.
He didn't see the blow coming.
"Say it again," he ordered, trying to regain control of the scene.
And I couldn't wait to see how he would do it.
"Take… the control from me," I repeated.
He didn't answer.
He smiled.
And slowly… too slowly…
he began to take off his jacket.
Without taking his eyes off me.
As if the decision had already been made.
As if he had been waiting for this.
My pulse quickened.
Not from fear.
Not this time.
"You asked for it," he said.
NOW YOU PLAY WITH ME.
He finished taking off his jacket.
My heart beat in my throat.
I couldn't take my eyes off him.
His muscles shifted under his shirt.
The ceiling seemed to shrink.
Everything darkened around us and only he existed.
I swallowed hard.
I didn't blink.
And when he dropped the jacket over the chair—
slowly,
without taking his eyes off me—
my pulse raced even faster.
"You asked for it," he repeated.
His tone was pure sensuality.
I smiled faintly. Rigid.
"I… did," I murmured.
It was getting hot.
Then he took a step.
I thought he would come closer.
That he would close the distance until there was no air left between us.
I held my breath.
I was sure I didn't want him to stop.
When suddenly the magic broke.
He stopped half a meter away.
Too far.
And his gaze was no longer the same.
I frowned slightly.
"Is that all?"
A shadow of a smile crossed his face.
"No."
But he didn't move toward me.
He moved toward the desk.
And he sat right beside me.
He didn't touch me.
I had to let out the breath I was holding.
I looked at him sideways.
He was watching me in that way that threw me off balance.
And a mocking spark danced in his pupils.
"Now it's my turn," he said.
My body reacted before my mind could.
"Turn for what?"
His fingers brushed the surface of the desk.
Slow.
Controlled.
His arm grazed mine.
It was electric.
But I kept my composure.
"To ask real questions," his answer came just in time. "And this time…" he added, "…you're going to answer."
I smiled tensely.
"I don't do that…"
"Yes, you do."
I turned a little and looked him straight in the eyes.
I was about to retort, but then…
He said my name.
"Isabella…"
He exhaled it… as if he were savoring it.
And I stopped breathing.
The world stopped.
Because of the way he said it.
Stretching it out.
With deliberate slowness.
As if he had already tasted it before.
As if he had been using it for a long time.
"How…?"
"You're not the only one who watches," he answered.
I straightened up and stared at a point on the wall in front of me.
Everything changed right there.
And I couldn't decide if it was working in my favor.
"So… shall we begin?"
It took me a few seconds to recover.
And I looked at him again.
I smiled.
As if that could win back the ground I had lost.
"To play?"
He laughed.
For the first time.
A short laugh, but enough to throw me off again.
"The game started a long time ago… Isabella," he whispered. "Right from the moment you decided to sneak into… my property." A pause. "Into my life."
A thick silence wrapped around us.
I didn't look him in the eyes.
"Then I'll answer," I said, with the barest calm, "but only if you answer too."
"Deal."
His quick response surprised me, and this time I did look at him. Fixed.
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
I took a difficult breath.
He was so close…
How could he have that kind of control?
"Now you're playing with me," I protested softly.
"No," he corrected. "Now I'm entering the game you started. With my own pieces. My own moves."
"That's not true. You were already playing. You know my name."
"I was only watching. That's not playing."
My shoulders tensed, but I still smiled.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Well, that's perfect," I admitted, with no more excuses. "Because it changes everything… making it unpredictable."
"And interesting."
"I know. I won't be merciful. I'll do whatever it takes, even break the rules…"
"That's what I hope," he said. "Because there are no rules… Isabella." My name in his voice for the third time was no longer innocent. "And any that existed, you already broke them. Shall we begin?"
We both smiled at each other.
Not in friendship.
They were the smiles of two rivals willing to do anything to win.
Because the prize was worth it.
"Your turn," I said.
He curved his lips.
That dangerous smile appeared.
He licked them.
"Will you answer everything, no matter how hard it is?"
He arched an eyebrow.
I felt a shiver run through me.
"Yes. Everything."
That put me right on the edge of something.
Where on either side… there were only abysses.
With one question stuck in my throat:
What if all of this had been a trap he had set from the very beginning?
And then…
he asked the first question.
"Why did you start coming in?"