This chapter contains slow-burn chemistry , heart fluttering and dangerously magnetic encounter
Nessa heartbeat stumbled. He looked effortlessly composed in his tailored suit, his sharp jawline and those piercing eyes catching her off guard,the same man she had flirted with so shamelessly now seated at the table as one of the company's strategic partners,Of course, she thought. Fate just loves to humiliate me,throughout the meeting, she tried to focus on charts, projections, numbers anything but the way Louis' gaze occasionally drifted toward her,everytime their eyes met, her throat tightened and her pen trembled slightly against the page, her cheeks burned as if she was experiencing a romantic scene in a movie eac time she sneak a peak like a teenager whose got a crush on a boy in her class,she'd smile at his perfection and she couldn't help it or contain it anymore this man was too much for her.When the meeting ended,she wrap up with the board members she wanted to catch up with Louis ray. she took a deep breath and walked toward him, the confidently ,Mr. Ray," she began, offering a polite smile. "I just wanted to thank you and apologise for the other night. I'm … I'm sorry if I said anything embarrassing."that made you feel uneasy or uncomfortable, I'm really sorry I was wasted and I even got into a fight with some guys, I couldn't control myself, I'm deeply sorry if there's anyhow I could make it up to you, please let me know." He looked at her with a half-smirk that made her feel nervous but trying to keep her cool,calm,collected self. "Embarrassing?" he said, stepping closer. "You mean when you told me you wondered how my lips would taste?",nessa's breath caught. "You— you remember that?"
"How could I forget?" Louis said smoothly, his voice dipping lower. "You've been in my head ever since." Her cheeks flamed red. "I— I wasn't myself that night." Nessa added,
He chuckled, leaning closer until she could feel his breath against her skin. "You sure about that?" "You know if you wanted my lips so bad you should have just said so or perhaps kissed me". He teased her making her pale smooth skin turn red like a ripe tomato . Nessa froze trapped between wanting to move away and wanting to look away. She look deep in his eyes almost getting lost in it.The air between them thickened, charged with something that made her pulse race. Louis' gaze flicked to her lips, and for a heartbeat, everything stilled,her lips parted slightly, breath trembling. "You can kiss me if you want I'm pretty sure they taste just as good as they look" Nessa said coyly, he leaned in just enough for her to feel the warmth of his breathe , Teasingly "tempting I could devour those cherry blossoms lips of yours but...."
With his hands caressing her lips, then pulled back, it made Nessa chest ache, his scent,his touch was intoxicating, rich and dangerous, he moved his hand around her waist the other on her lips as he stared into those deep drowning eyes of hers, he could see the pain in her eyes of him holding his kisses back, Louis almost chuckled, every muscle in his body screamed to close the distance, to taste what had been haunting him, her scent, so enticing he couldn't wrap his head around it, her pale smooth skin, the thought her bare body on his cross his mind images flashes of her under him, the way her lips parted as if welcoming him to suck and devour her mouth, the sound of her racing heart begging to be calmed, the scent of her filled his senses, too sweet, too alive, he could feel his control slipping away for a moment, and his hand gripped her skin tightly letting a seductive moan slip out of her lips, Louis breathing hitched, he could hear voices in his head, things he hasn't heard since centuries,
His inner voices screaming violently at him
"take her", devour her, mark her, make her plea under you, you want her don't you?.
the voices in Louis head became darker,dangerous and it stirred too strongly,
Louis pulled back not wanting the voices taking over him,
He blinked, breathing hard, fighting the hunger rising beneath his skin, as if begging his urge, his inner demon to spare her, with visible effort, he straightened, stepping back abruptly but not fully collected his head spinning, his eyes moist,his hugging fangs threatening to come out, his inner demon pleading for just a taste of her, the warmth in his eyes dimmed to cold composure, the sound of her moan released his caged beasts and now fidgeting so hard to control them, he looked at her and see her pleading face as if begging to take her, if only she knew what she was doing to him.
Louis pull back giving her a reassuring smile, his eyes told a different story, one that spoke of all the things he couldn't promise, he stepped back, farther this time, his voice low and broken."You shouldn't look at me like that," he said. "You have no idea what you're inviting." Nessa blinked,confusion flickering across her face, but before she could speak, he turned away his expression cold, his hands clenched, as though restraining something violent and sacred all at once.
" you should go" Louis added
"Right," Nessa whispered, turning toward the door, when she left. Louis sank into his chair, closing his eyes and exhaling shakily, her scent still clung to the air sweet, human, maddening, he'd almost lost control, almost let the beast inside him win, and as the door clicked shut,Louis sat alone in the dark of his office, his glass of untouched whiskey on the table beside him, his eyes hollow, hands trembling, he could still smell her. Still feel the warmth of her skin near his, one moment closer, and he would have lost control completely, "Damn it," he muttered under his breath, raking a hand through his hair.
The demon inside him stirred, mocking his restraint, you wanted her, it whispered. you still do, Louis clenched his jaw until it ached. "She's not yours to want," he hissed back, deep down, beneath the curse and the chaos, one truth pulsed louder than anything else, she was already under his skin, both of them were left with the same thought.
Nessa made it through the last hour of work her mind was a whirlpool of thoughts, her heart a restless drum she couldn't silence, every time she closed her eyes, she saw him, Louis Ray with that maddening calm and the way his voice wrapped around her like velvet,she replayed the moment in his office again and again the near kiss, the heat of his breath, the storm in his eyes, he'd looked like a man torn in two, a man at war with himself. Even now, the memory of his nearness burned beneath her skin. She could still feel it, the way his gaze lingered too long, the way silence between them had felt louder than words,
She pressed a hand to her chest, as if that might calm the ache, But it didn't. Because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't unsee the look in his eyes, the look that said he wanted her, she pressed a hand to her chest, as if that might calm the ache. But it didn't, because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't unsee the look in his eyes the look that said he wanted her.
Weeks passed, and Nessa buried herself in work as if it could erase him from her mind, every morning she arrived earlier, every night she stayed later, anything to fill the silence Louis Ray had left behind, he hadn't attended any board meetings since that day, his office door remained locked, his seat always empty, and though she told herself it didn't matter, her heart still jumped at every passing shadow that vaguely resembled him. When her phone rang one afternoon, she almost hoped it was him. But it wasn't.
Dad," she said, forcing a small smile into her voice, her father's tone was cheerful, proud even. "Nessa! The company's hosting a celebration party this weekend ,you must attend, You're part of the company now; it's important people see that." Nessa groaned in disgust. "Dad, a party? I've barely had time to breathe this month."
"You're going," he insisted. "No arguments, Nessa. This is good for you — for your image, for the family. I expect to see you there." The call ended with her giving in, as always. "Fine, I'll go," she muttered under her breath, tossing her phone onto the desk,still the thought of walking into a crowded ballroom full of executives made her stomach twist.
She needed company, someone to keep her sane, so she called Riah.
"Please," she begged over the phone, "be my plus one. I can't face another business event alone."
Riah laughed softly. "I have nothing to wear."
Nessa smiled to herself. "Now you do."
Two days later, a box arrived at Riah's apartment a silver open-back silk gown that shimmered like moonlight. Nessa had chosen it herself, a gentle bribe to secure her best friend's company, when Riah called her later, laughing and blushing, Nessa grinned. "So, I'll take that as a yes?"
"You're impossible," Riah said. "But fine. I'll come." For a moment, everything felt lighter until the next morning, when Nessa found a small black box on her desk at work,No name, no note, Just the faintest trace of a familiar scent cedar and rain, her breath caught as she lifted the lid, Inside lay a red body-hugging dress, elegant and bold, the kind of dress that didn't ask for attention; it commanded it,
A folded card sat beneath it, handwritten in neat ink:I'm sorry for the other night,The girl who won't leave my thoughts. Louis.
Nessa's heart stuttered, she blushed covering her opened mouth with her hand, she touched the fabric it was soft, warm, almost alive beneath her fingers, for weeks he'd vanished. And now this, she exhaled shakily, whispering to herself, "What are you doing to me, Louis Ray?".