Something deeper than the usual cold detachment.
Something that felt—
Too close to hunger.
A quiet tension coiled in my chest.
Then, without a word, he reached out and closed the door.
The soft click echoed louder than it should have.
And just like that—
He disappeared from my immediate space.
Only to reappear seconds later on the driver’s side.
My heart stuttered when I realized what was happening.
“You’re... driving me?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Small. Unsteady.
Almost disbelieving.
He opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat without looking at me, adjusting himself with the same controlled precision he did everything else.
The engine started with a low, powerful rumble that vibrated through the seat beneath me and straight into my bones.
“Yeah.”
Just that.
One word.
Final.
The truck reversed smoothly, the massive gates ahead of us opening silently as if the entire estate responded to his presence without question.
We pulled forward, exiting the garage and moving along the long, winding private drive.
Silence settled between us.
Thick. Electric.
I sat rigidly in my seat, trying to ignore the way my awareness sharpened in his presence. But it was impossible.
Everything about him pulled my attention.
The way his large hands flexed slightly on the steering wheel.
The subtle movement of his forearms beneath the rolled sleeves.
The controlled rise and fall of his chest.
The way his throat shifted when he swallowed.
