Page 124 of Toxic

"I want one kiss. I’ve craved this kiss from the first day I came to your room. Since that moment, I’ve dreamed of feeling your soft lips on mine, of you responding to that kiss, of yourarms wrapping around my neck. Give me this one thing, and I won’t ask for anything else. I’ll wait for the day you’re ready, Soren."

I felt my body start to tremble, knowing already that I was going to agree to his request. My hands grew clammy, and my jaw tightened slightly.

"Alright, one kiss," I rasped.

His eyes lit up, I saw true joy in them—a whole ocean of it. I had given him so little, yet he took it as if I had given him the world. His energy seemed to radiate this excitement.

"Really? Thank you for agreeing. You don’t even know how much it means to me."

Why did his words hurt so much?

He stepped closer, and everything seemed to slow down. His hand lifted unhurriedly and gently brushed against my cheek, his fingers trailing along my jawline, then nudged the silver ring in the corner of my lip. I shivered—this simple touch sent a powerful wave of pleasure through my nervous system, concentrating in my crotch area. His other hand slowly rested on my waist, making me tremble even more. My heart raced wildly, and my pulse skyrocketed as his hand traveled up my back to my shoulder blades. The sensual, erotic touch evoked a soft moan from my lips. I wanted to be touched like this all over me; I wanted to feel his lips on my skin. I wanted to offer him my body, which now craved him almost painfully.

He pulled me toward him at an excruciatingly slow pace. Of course, there was no doubt—I could feel his hardness just as he could feel mine. The chemistry that had been between us from the first day definitely didn’t fade. If anything, it was even stronger. I saw the hunger in his eyes—a powerful hunger. His pupils were so dilated they nearly eclipsed his turquoise irises.

Even more leisurely, he began to lean toward my lips. I was grateful that he was savoring the moment, slowing it down forboth of us, ensuring we didn’t miss a single detail—not a breath, not a touch, not a brush of warm air. Finally, the moment, so sweetly prolonged, reached its climax. His lips touched mine, and… boom! It was like an explosion of sparks! I involuntarily moaned, opening my mouth immediately. In the next second, it was as if a violent discharge had passed between us—our lips pressed together with unimaginable passion and intensity. My hands instinctively wrapped around his neck, and my body clung to him in desperate need.

All I could hear were our loud breaths and moans, involuntarily escaping as we kissed. I had never kissed anyone like this, not even Anton. It was a wild, strong, intense kiss, full of unmatched fierceness. I shivered, not wanting it to end, gripping his body tightly as he held on to me. The desperate need to connect with him began to dominate my mind. I realized that if I didn’t stop this, we’d end up in one of the stalls, and I’d let him fuck me for as long as he wanted…

But just then, we heard a throat clearing behind us, abruptly ending our heaven-wrapped-in-hell experience.

Standing behind us was—no way—the director Nolan himself!

To my surprise, though, his face didn’t show outrage or anger, not even disgust. It was typical of him, perfectly calm.

"The bathroom on my side of the hallway is closed today—some issue with a clogged toilet. I had to use this one, excuse me," he explained, raising his eyebrows meaningfully, then entered a stall, closing the door behind him.

I cursed under my breath. The giant erection straining against my pants was now the least of my problems.

"Damn, this is bad," I muttered. We hurried out of the bathroom, and as soon as we were in the hallway, Skye grabbed my hand, stopping me mid-step.

"Don’t worry about him seeing us. That’s the least of our problems. He knows how I feel about you."

"But he asked me to keep my private life separate from my work!" I squeaked in panic.

"Soren, he agreed to hire me mainly because he knew I was in love with you. We’re good!"

I burst out laughing because it was all so absurd.

"Are you sure? He won’t fire us or give us a disciplinary warning for showing affection publicly?"

"I highly doubt it. If anything, he might congratulate me. It’s just a shame he doesn’t know the truth—that this was only one time." Skye’s expression changed as she spoke, his eyes filling with sadness and resignation. I quickly looked away.

"We need to get back to the room, Skye. We have a lot of work to do," I said, adopting an official tone because I didn’t want to dig into this any further. I already wronged Liam by doing this; I couldn’t let it continue… despite wanting it to continue so fucking much!

"Alright, I’ll keep my word. I won’t ask for anything more. I’ll wait, as I said."

We stared at each other for a moment. My disobedient mind was already indulging in a fantasy of giving him a second kiss, but just then, the door slammed, and Director Nolan stepped out of the bathroom. Seeing us still standing in the hallway, he raised his eyebrows again and said,

"Soren, can I speak to you in my office for a moment?"

Nervously, I nodded. "Of course, we can go right now."

He gestured for me to follow him, and I did, leaving Skye in the hallway, watching us with a bit of anxiety in his eyes.

Once we were alone in Director Nolan’s office, he pointed to a chair, and I sat down as he took a seat behind his desk. Nolan leaned against the edge of the desk, his arms crossed over his chest. He smelled clean, a mixture of lavender and lime?The citrusy tinge evoked a particular association in my mind with Skye’s fragrance, which still felt like it was enveloping me, dizzying me.

"I’d like to talk to you about the training proposal that the Innovation Department suggested."

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