I stood first, then gathered my things and walked out without hesitation, straight back to my office.I didn’t glance at him.I didn’t wait.My behavior was not to punish him, but to remind Creed that if he wanted me, he’d have to meet me where I stood now.
Not beneath him.Not waiting.
Standing.
* * *
IDIDN’T HEAR HIM COMEin.I felt him.
Not footsteps.Pressure.The kind that altered the air before a storm broke.
I was standing near the window, city lights bleeding into the glass, when the door clicked shut behind me.Slow and controlled.The sound of the lock sliding into place landed low in my spine.
I didn’t turn right away.When I did, I faced him slowly.
Creed stood near the door, jacket buttoned, tie loosened just enough to suggest restraint rather than carelessness.His expression wasn’t angry.That would’ve been easier.This was something far more dangerous—focused.Decided.
“You don’t get to walk out on me like that,” he said.Not loud.Not sharp.Final.
I crossed my arms, grounding myself.“I didn’t walk out on you.I left a meeting.”
His gaze tracked the movement—not my face, but my posture.The way I held my ground.
“You knew exactly what you were doing.”
“Yes,” I said calmly as I circled my desk.“I did.”
A beat passed.
Then Creed’s mouth curved in recognition and he stepped closer.Just close enough to make me aware of him.
“This is what you wanted?”he asked.“To see if I’d follow?”
I lifted my chin.“Yes, I wanted to see if you would.”
Another step.
“You don’t test me lightly.”
“I didn’t test you,” I said.“I stopped chasing.”
That did it.
I felt it before I saw it—the shift, subtle but immediate.The tightening of the air between us.
He reached out, not touching me, but bracing his hand against the desk beside my hip.A boundary drawn without contact.
“You don’t withdraw from me without consequence,” he said quietly.
“And you don’t get to disappear and expect me to stay still,” I replied.
His jaw flexed.Then his hand moved.Not possessive.Intentional.
He took my wrist.Firm.Measured.I didn’t resist.Didn’t soften.Didn’t submit.Instead, I held his gaze.
“This,” he said, thumb pressing lightly where my pulse jumped, “is me taking control back.”
My breath caught, but I didn’t look away.“And this,” I said evenly, “is me letting you, because you showed up.”
