Page 26 of King Of Order

The push, pull, and dichotomy were doing a number on me.

I stopped talking, biting my lip, unsure what else to say.

The food arrived, and he motioned for me to eat, but I picked at it, too wrapped up in angst and the butterflies in my tummy.

The quiet hum of the bar faded into the background, the world narrowing to only the two of us. He sat calm and collected, watching me with those pale blue eyes—eyes that seemed to see right through me.

They were like icy pools, cold but burning with an intensity I tried but was unable to look away from.

My gaze drifted lower, tracing the sculpted contours of his jaw down to his mouth.

Those lips, sensual, full, made for kissing, for tasting, for sucking.

Heat pooled in my belly as my eyes wandered down to his neck. Dark pigment curled over his skin, disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt.

Like him, his tattoos showcased intricate, swirling lines hinting at something wild and untamed. I wanted to trace it with my fingers, follow it down his body, and see where it led.

My breath hitched as I imagined the designs continuing over his chest, his shoulders, maybe even lower.

‘How far does your ink go?’ I blurted.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that your excuse to see me nude, Chiara? To undress me, explore more?’

I glowered at him, yet the thought of peeling his shirt off, revealing the artwork beneath, sent a shiver down my spine.

My fingers itched to touch him, feel the heat of his skin under my hands, and examine the sinewed strength of his biceps—how they flexed with power, even in the simplest movement. I imagined those arms holding me, protecting me, possessing me.

Dio, what was I doing?

I was losing control, fantasizing about him right here in front of him, helpless, unable to stop.

My mind wandered further, imagining the bulk of his body over mine. His mouth on my neck, his hands roaming across my body, coaxing every veiled desire to the surface.

The thought of being so close to him, of surrendering to that deep, magnetic pull between us, made my heart race faster.

He shifted in his seat, and I snapped back to reality, swallowing hard.

His eyes still studied me as if sensing the storm of emotions I was trying to keep hidden.

A slow, knowing smirk spread over his lips, reading my mind and perceiving my thoughts.

Heat flooded my cheeks, and I glanced away, attempting to focus on anything other than the tension crackling in the air separating us.

‘Are you OK?’

His utterance, a raw burr, held a hint of nuance in it now—a dangerous tone that matched the intensity sparking inside me.

I nodded, unable to trust my voice, afraid that if I spoke, I’d give too much away.

But the truth was, I wasn’t alright.

Not in the slightest.

He mesmerized me, drawn in like I’d never been before.

My body screamed at me to act on the fantasies swirling in my head, but my mind pulled me back, reminding me of the consequences.

He set his glass down as if reading my mind, leaning forward, his voice rough and raw, reacting to this feral, savage attraction like I was. ‘You’re dangerous, you know that?’

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