Something in his expression fractured.Not weakness.Recognition.
“I don’t stay where I can’t trust myself,” he said quietly.
“Neither do I,” I replied.“That’s why this has to be a choice.Not a test.”
That did it.The shift was instant.Magnetic.
Creed’s mouth found mine, claiming through restraint.The kiss was slow, controlled, deliberate, like he was tasting the choice instead of taking it.Heat bloomed anyway, dangerous, and undeniable.His hand slid into my hair, grounding.Mine fisted in his coat, not to pull him closer—but to stay.The kiss deepened.Not desperate.Mutual.Earned.
When I pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, breath unsteady.
“Go inside,” he said quietly.It wasn’t dismissal.Protection.
I hesitated.
His thumb brushed my cheek once more.“This doesn’t fix anything,” he added.“But it means I’m still here.”
I stepped back before I could reach for him again.
The cold rushed where his warmth had been.
“I’ll call you,” he said.Not as control.
A promise.
Chapter 10
Wednesday had beena relentless blur—a whirlwind of meetings, emails, and endless analysis.But the numbers didn’t lie.Black Friday and Cyber Monday had shattered expectations, setting a new record for the magazine’s winter issue.A win.A massive one.
My team had worked tirelessly, and I made sure they knew it by closing the meeting with praise that was earned, specific, and deserved.This was leadership.But the moment I stepped back into my office, the adrenaline faded.The silence rushed in.Then the ache.
Creed’s promise to call had been just that—a promise.One I no longer built my days around.
It had been a week since Thanksgiving.A week since the kiss that hadn’t fixed anything but had cracked something open.At first, I’d given him space.Then patience.Then understanding.What I stopped giving him was access to my emotional center.
He hadn’t been in the office all week.Not once.For a man like Creed Kirkland—who tracked every moving part of his empire like a chessboard—that absence wasn’t chaos.It was avoidance.But I didn’t chase it.I didn’t text.I didn’t ask questions through other people.I didn’t invent excuses on his behalf.I let the silence exist.And that, strangely, hurt less than waiting.
