NOTE: an extended version of this chapter is on Patreon 

Parts 11 and 12 are also available on Patreon RIGHT NOW. 

This book on Wattpad will only be 15 parts as I originally stated. it will be continued as an extended plotline on Patreon! *

The steam from the running water rose to the high ceilings. Inside the glass encased shower, which was by the far the most spacious one I've seen in my life, I lathered myself in a sweet, lavender smelling soap. I'm sure he had gotten it intentionally for me as he hadn't bothered to utilize it and opted to use another scent for himself. Harry stood by the white, stone tiles that covered two sides of the shower, directly beneath the shower head. The water runs past his face, down his broad shoulders, down his chest, his muscled abdomen. He washes away the smell of the pool with a soap lathered into a plush shower sponge. His eyes are closed, and I'm allowed a moment to admire him before I look away, contemplating approaching him.

I take a few steps, the bottoms of my feet submerged in the running water the drains somewhere behind me. The lathered soap glides down his body as he rinses off, head lowered. He seemed so calm, relaxed. There was not a single thought in his mind, it appeared, but in a strange manner, his face appeared focus still. The water sprays onto me as I've come close enough to him that my skin touches his, standing beneath the shower head with him. From his lowered head, he opens his eyes, attentive to my sudden close proximity. My soapy skin rinses under the warm flow of warmth, listening to the way our breaths drown in the noise of the running water.

Harry watches me quietly, observing the path my hands run up his chest, and over his collarbones. Feeling against his soft skin, my eyes following the patterns my index finger absentmindedly draws onto him. Our silence is comfortable, and I find myself thinking, possibly too much. I wondered what he thought of in the privacy of his own thoughts, his eyes giving away almost nothing. Mine follow up his chest and to his eyes, squinting as to avoid the tiny water droplets that sparkled against my face.

I'm not given any more than a few seconds until I feel his lips touch mine. He leans down more, pressing harder on my mouth, kissing me more deeply. His hands grip my naked waist gently, gliding his palms across the wet skin. The sensual, tender kiss lingers until a noise disrupts our peace. The serenity of our environment diffuses, a knock against the wood airing out beneath the sound of the running water.

"Yes?" Harry calls out, agitation clearly in his voice. I feel his chest vibrate when he speaks, my palms flat against the skin there, feeling the light hairs.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Mr. Styles," a low, gruff voice says from the other side of the bathroom door. "Mr. Yung has contacted you several times. It seems to be urgent."

In response, Harry huffs, his eyes staring up at the ceiling of the shower, a light illuminating the enclosed space. "Aright. Be vague when you tell that bloody idiot that I call him. He doesn't call me. Understood?"

I look away, the fierceness and passive aggression of his voice slightly alarming. I assumed Mr. Yung and Harry were friends, as they were colleagues and owned the law form together. Maybe he had just been that irritated that we were interrupted, but my mind insisted otherwise. I knew nothing of the context of their relationship, so I could just as easily assume one thing over another. Instead of ruminating on the thought too much, I slide the shower door open and step onto the cooled floors. I grab the towel I had been using for the past two days and wrap it around my body.

I say nothing to him. The water stops behind me, and I hear him step out of the shower as well. My eyes stare up into the mirror by the sink, viewing my own reflection. I tuck one end of the towel into itself, securing it around my body. My soaked, dark hair drips behind me, curling and bouncing around my face as I make my way to the door. I hoped Axel had left by then, and I'm relieved to see that the bedroom was empty.

My discomfort grows in a silence that was the opposite just a few moments earlier. I didn't know Harry much, and I was overstaying at his place. I would only have to stay until my father returned in a few days from New York, where we could discuss possible solutions to my situation. I knew I couldn't abandon my mother; especially neglect the conversation we were bound to have. But there was no way I could return to live with her under the constant reminders of what could've been if she had spared me the torturous, damaging ideas that engrained in my head, making my self-esteem suffer.

Harry walks in, my back turned to him. I stare off aimlessly, drying my skin, losing my train of thought. We said nothing for the remainder of the time it took for both of us to get dressed. I would glance at him for a fraction of a second on occasion, seeing the way he took his time as he fastened his watch across his wrist. The scent of his freshly sprayed cologne drifts across the room. As he secures his watch, a damp strand of hair curls in front of his forehead, falling just above his left eye. He had picked out a black short sleeve button that fits him loosely. He grabs a belt in his hand, sliding it into one loop before we make eye contact.

In my underwear, and in the process of buttoning up the usual white shirt, I look away and watch my fingers work each button until I get to the very top. He takes a few strides towards me and catches me midway as I'm reaching for my pants. His hand, now decorated by two silver rings, grips my chin in a gentle manner. Head lowered, he knowingly narrows his eyes at me, watchful of my reactions. "What's wrong?" He asks lowly.

I shake my head, forcing his hand to move away. Like I intended to do beforehand, I reach for my pants and bend to put them on. I hear him sigh to himself. As I'm buttoning up my pants, he rubs at his jaw, contemplating. "Athena," he murmurs. "What's wrong?" His words are spoken slowly, sternly. He was not going to be patient about this. He already knew my mood had changed.

"Nothing," I steadily reply, sighing audibly and refusing to make eye contact as I button up my pants, securing them before walking towards my heels that had been placed near his dresser.

"I know that's not true," he responds coolly. I turn around, heels fastened. I'm undoing my hair from the messy updo, feeling the drying curls with my hands.

We lock eyes. "It's none of my business."

"What isn't?" He presses calmly.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I contemplate on whether or not I should openly say what I was thinking. But at this rate, with his eyes perceptive and his expression expectant, I knew I did not have a choice. I had to provide an answer.

"Since when do you need a personal guard? Or any...security?" I ask cautiously.

Harry's squint at me only slightly as he processes my question. "Because I'm officially on a high-profile case with Mr. Yung. One that I cannot share with you. So, you're right, it's none of your business. But it was a simple question, Athena, that required a simple answer," he answers collectedly, unfazed by my wonder.

Lowering my eyebrows, I simply nod and tie my hair into a low bun, not bothering to look into the mirror. I did not like the tension in the room and was keen on avoiding it. My determination to elude the eyes that inquisitively follow me was evident through my nervous mannerism. I didn't want to spend another second in that room with him. Not because he had sharply cut off any existing concerns — because he had not done that, at all. In fact, he made it particularly difficult to dismiss the curiosity.

Like I've said before, this was dangerous for me. This need to know him and his endeavors. I didn't need to go this far into a connection with him, but he was now more persistent than I was. My problem was, then, that his persistence was charming and alluring, it was getting easier and easier to fall prey to his collected, effortless charisma. But from this interaction, I knew there was a limit to my proximity to him. We could lie naked together, we could share a few intimate moments, but he was not interested in involving me fully. And I wondered about that despite knowing it was not my place.

I grab my bag and exit the bedroom, knowing he was still watching me, what he was waiting for was beyond me. In the kitchen, the two boxes remain. I carefully grab them, placing them into my shoulder bag and zipping it closed. My lips purse and I hesitate to leave the kitchen, standing there with a wary expression. He was gifting me these 'minor' and 'trivial' things that he found no problem in attaining. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but I knew that regardless of gifts or sentiments or gestures...I was growing incredibly attached to this man. I was sinking and sinking deeper into an abyss of uncertain damages.

When I walk back out, he's standing by the door. Briefcase in his ringed hand, Axel a few feet from his left. I make my way to him, watching him type a few things into his phone. He looks up at me, searching my face. I go to reach for the handle of his front door, but his hand reaches up to stop mine, grabbing my wrist and bringing my hand to a quick stop. In a second, he leans to my side and gets into my narrowed sight, his own widening and firm eyes almost glistening with the vibrant, pale green in their irises.

I inhale sharply, looking up at him, utterly intimidated. "What?" I softly whisper, feeling an unnerving tension between us.

He doesn't respond right away, his stare lingering as he finally says, "Don't. My work is separate. I take it seriously, just as you take your studies. Let's not mix work with play."

Stirred in the wrong way by his tone, I grip the strap of my bag more tightly against my shoulder. "Don't you think it's too late for that? You're talking to your intern," I state faintly with surprising conviction, feeling my face hot, precisely my pinked cheeks. The surprise constricted my chest and I have to breathe in sharply for a second, maintaining a steady gaze into his fixed eyes.

"Why are you upset with me?" He asks seriously, his voice low, and his volume controlled. The composure of his appearance made his austerity even stronger.

I whip my hand from his loose grip. "Nothing," I answer slowly, swallowing down my pride. I had to remind myself of the place I assumed in his perspective. I was the shy, young, attractive intern that he wants to keep around for fun and a temporary fix. My lips purse and I quickly avert, "Are we going? I have to a lot to do."

"Athena." He warns, refusing to allow me to reach for the door handle again.

"What?" I retort.

Instead of responding he simply watches me momentarily before his eyes avert to Axel, giving an unspoken demand. Axel knowledgeably walks forward and pulls the door open, walking out the door first and standing outside to view the hallway. Harry glances at me once more, his sternness having faded. All that was left was a dry, expressionless look on his stilled face. I note the way he grips his briefcase tighter.

"You tempt me in ways you can't imagine," he whispers now that Axel had put some distance between us and himself, as if he hadn't even trusted his guard's presence for the words he was about to say, or the attitude he was about to display. Like it was forbidden. I stare carefully at him, observing the movements of his lips, his narrowing his eyes, and the growing discontent displayed through his facial expression. "But you're not work to me. Frankly, you're entirely the opposite. As it should be. And you didn't seem to care much for being my intern, if I'm honest," he responds coolly.

I part my lips to respond and he shakes his head. "Let's be honest here, yes? I've wanted to bend you over and take you up against that bloody desk every day you were around in my office. I dreamt of the moment I'd spread you out on it. All those nights alone, it must have crossed your mind."

Blushing, I'm flustered and at loss for a retaliation. I bite the inside of my cheek, narrowing eyes growing agitated with embarrassment. He stares at me quite darkly, silently enjoying my silence. "You drive me mad," he mutters. "In the impossibly good way. That's not work."

I couldn't sink. Not in his affection, not into this dangerous whole I've so willingly dug myself. "I'm not just your play thing, either," I confess gently, feeling the wall around me burning under his gaze, melting down to ashes.

"And who said that?" He tests, tilting his head, his eyes never wavering.

I blink and temporarily avert my eyes elsewhere before looking at him again. "It was implied," I reply shortly. Pausing, and then muttering, "It doesn't matter, Harry. I have work to get to, and so do you, right? Can't keep people waiting."

Without speaking another word, I take a deep breath and walk past him, and past Axel in the hallway. I didn't want to look back where I knew he had followed. Silence follows us down the corridor and in the elevator. My fears were consuming me. I was aware of how little I knew about him. How innocent I may appear to be, so much so that I have underestimated my own consciousness. If he was serious, then I was worth the work he seemed to think he didn't have to apply. I would no longer settle for the option I was not the most eager to attain.

At the law firm, Addison and the other interns are standing by the sculpture that greets us in the classic foyer. They seemed to have just recently arrived. Before I part ways with Harry, our eyes lock, and my face forces a neutral expression right before I look away. When I focus my attention on the interns, Addison had already been looking at me. For a moment, she glances in Harry's direction and then back to me. Upon making eye contact, she sends me a smile and greets me, "Hey, Athena."

"Hi," I simply respond, acknowledging the rest of the group of interns. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. We were just discussing the networking options at the fundraiser for some organization's legislative change effort. It's tonight. George told us about it last minute, but I'm going to assume it's important to be there," she explains, and the other interns nod in agreement with her comment.

I nod. "Oh. Well, that sounds like an opportunity."

"Yeah. You should come. —"

My phone rings in my pocket. I fish it out to see the caller ID that belongs to my mother. Choosing to ignore it, I press the lock button, muting the call and silencing the ringer before placing the phone back into my pocket. I look back at the group, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I think I will."

"Yes," Addison grins. "It's a classy evening. George was amping the crap out of it, but let's hope the food's good."

All I could think about is why Harry hadn't mentioned it to me at all. But I push the thought to the back of my head, and force a smile up at Addison. 

NOTE: an extended version of this chapter is on Patreon

Full parts 11 and 12 are also available on Patreon right now.

This book on Wattpad will only be 15 parts as I originally stated. it will be continued as an extended plotline on Patreon!

thanks for reading!  

- Zeff