“Bullshit.” I leaned against the metal table with a casualness I absolutely did not feel. “Your eyes followed me like you wanted to say something. Or maybe…you wanted totastesomething.”
He exhaled—tight, irritated, clearly pissed that I wasn’t playing the game he’d just rewritten without telling me.
“This isn’t the Hollow. This is work.”
I stepped closer. “And yet here you are. Again. Watching me like I might combust if you blink too long.”
“That was a mistake.”
“Didn’t feel like one,” I murmured, eyes narrowing. “Unless your idea of a mistake includes almost kissing someone like your life depended on it.”
Theo’s jaw ticked. He looked at me now—not through me, not around me—butatme. Like I was the hurricane he’d invited in, then regretted opening the window for.
“Don’t push me.” This time, his voice was tighter. Rougher. The leash on his self-control straining.
“Oh, sweetheart,” I cooed, lips curling into a grin designed to get me slapped or kissed, “You’re already this close to the edge.” I pinched my thumb and forefinger together. “And I’m not even touching you. Imagine what it would be like if I were…”
Something cracked inside him. Not loud. Not visible. Just a shift in the air, a flicker of tension so thick it had gravity. Theo stepped forward like instinct pulled him before his brain caught up, and he stopped himself short. Inches between us. His hot breath ghosted over my face.
His voice dropped. “You don’t know who you’re playing with.”
“No,” I said, dragging my gaze down his perfectly ironed shirt and back up again. “But I know I want to keep playing.”
For one charged, blistering second, we just stood there breathing the same air, pretending we weren’t imagining how it would feel if we just let go. Then, like someone flipped a switch, Theo stepped back and shut down.
Straightened his book like he needed to remind himself he still had a spine. “This conversation never happened.”
“Sure,” I snarked, voice dripping with sugar and spite. “We’ll just keep lying to ourselves. You’re great at that.”
His lips parted, like he wanted to say something—maybe defend himself, maybe ruin me—but he didn’t. He just turned and walked out.
No apology. No explanation.
Just the scent of high-end cologne and self-denial trailing in his wake like a curse. I stood there, hands on the counter, jaw clenched. Every part of me vibrating with rage, want, and something a hell of a lot more dangerous.
Behind me, the door creaked. Thalia leaned in, arms crossed, one brow arched like a movie critic about to deliver a scathing review.
“So…” she said slowly, “you gonna tell me what that was, or should I start guessing based on how hard you’re clenching your jaw?”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “That was my boss gaslighting me into insanity.”
She gave a long, dramatic pause. “Okay. But like… in ahotway?”
“I hate it here.”
“You hate iteverywhere.But this place has scandal potential, so count your blessings. It could be fun.”
I flipped her off and went back to stacking plates. And maybe, just for a second, I let myself imagine how it would feel to break Theo open completely. What it would be like to taste him, smash his walls down, and trace every inch of his body with my tongue. Working with a boner tucked into my waistband wasn’t on my to-do list for the day, but it looked like it would be a regular occurrence.
CHAPTER 5
THEO
It had been a week since that night at the Hollow. Since I’d laid eyes on every single one of my dreams turned into reality, my life became a living nightmare.
Seven days of discipline, while I felt like I was splitting apart at the seams. Of straightening my tie, keeping my tone even, and my hands still. Of ignoring the flicker of memory every time Sin smiled at someone else. And the irrational jealousy that clawed under my skin.
I’d spent years perfecting the art of control. But Sinclair Soul was chaos incarnate. And chaos never played fair.
