Mature content ahead.

❥ SARAH ❥

I nearly choked on the steak.

Not figuratively—literally. I managed to swallow it down but immediately reached for my wine, gulping as much as I could without spilling, desperate for the burning in my throat to subside.

What the hell did he just say?

“Are you alright? Would you like a glass of water?” Christopher’s voice dripped with false concern, a mockery that made my blood boil.

“You’re nuts,” was all I could manage, my voice shaky as I cut into the steak with unnecessary aggression.

His eyes gleamed, lighting up with amusement at how flustered I was. “What? Did I say something wrong, love?”

Oh, he was enjoying this way too much.

“You know what—” I bit down hard on my lip, slicing the steak violently. “Fuck you.”

Christopher laughed, loud enough to turn heads in the restaurant, drawing more unwanted attention. His laughter was deep, unapologetic, and it only made my face flush harder.

“Oh love,” he said through his chuckles, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, “this might be the best date I’ve ever been on.”

“Date?” I scoffed, glaring at him. “People on dates don’t say shit like that.”

He feigned innocence, cutting into his own steak with maddening calmness. “Like what, hmm? I’m just being straightforward.”

“Straightforward?” My voice faltered as I bit back the retort I really wanted to throw at him. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. “Fuck you,” I spat again, hoping the venom in my voice would shut him up this time.

But no, he leaned in closer, his voice dropping an octave. “Oh honey, every time you say that, it just makes me harder.”

I swallowed the groan that threatened to escape. He was impossible. It wasn’t enough that his gaze undressed me with every glance, like he could devour me right there. No, I had to take it further by teasing him earlier—my foot grazing his cock under the table, feeling how hard he got with every touch. A dangerous game I shouldn’t have played because now, I couldn’t stop thinking about how he looked at me like I was the prize he was waiting to claim.

And the worst part? It wasn't just the lust. I could handle lust. Like I just told him that I would touch him so it wasn't a problem for me.

It was his eyes.

Those green eyes told a different story. There was something deeper there, and it made me nervous because I didn’t know how to how to handle it.

“Okay,” Christopher interrupted my spiraling thoughts, wiping his mouth with a napkin like the gentleman he pretended to be. “Let’s have a real conversation.”

Right. A “real” conversation.

I coughed, trying to compose myself as I felt heat rising to my cheeks. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Everything.” His answer came too quickly, too confidently.

“Everything?” I repeated, nervously shifting in my seat, feeling the intensity of his gaze on me.

“Yes, everything.” His voice was calm, but his eyes were focused, locked on mine in a way that made it clear he wasn’t joking anymore.

I needed a distraction. I pushed my plate aside, trying to break the tension building between us, but there was no escaping his scrutiny. His serious look had returned, the one that made me feel like I was the only thing in the room worth looking at. It wasn’t just lust—I could handle lust. But this?

This was something else.

“Just ask me something,” I muttered, hoping to divert the conversation. “Anything. I’ll answer.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying me like he was deciding where to start. “Alright. What do you do for fun?”

“For fun?” The question threw me off. “I don’t really…do fun.”

His eyebrow quirked, amusement flickering in his expression. “Really? You don’t have time for fun?”

I shrugged, trying to act casual. “I’m mostly busy.”

“With what?”

With taking care of my sick brother, with dealing with a father who’s a constant disappointment, with trying to keep my life from falling apart while pretending everything’s fine. But I didn’t say any of that.

“Just normal girl things,” I lied. “None of your concern.”

"Oh trust me, honey. Everything about you will be my concern," he said, his tone matter-of-fact, like he had already decided.

I didn't know what to say. The more I tried to push him out of my screwed-up life, the more determined he seemed to force his way in. Every time I thought I'd shaken him off, there he was, relentless with that same intensity in his gaze that made it impossible for me to breathe.

And I won't stop talking about this. Those eyes.

God, his eyes. Annoyingly beautiful, emerald green, and so piercing it felt like he could see right through me. No matter how many times I threw glares at him or shot sharp insults his way, he didn’t stop.  He just kept looking at me, breaking me down piece by piece with every glance.

Yes, he wanted to sleep with me. That was no news. But those eyes—they said something more. Something I didn't want to acknowledge because if I did, I might crumble under the weight of it.

I don't like this.

“You confuse me,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

His eyes softened, a flicker of surprise in them. “How?”

I hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. “You just…you confuse me. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“I just want to know everything about you,” he said quietly, his tone sincere for the first time all night.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as frustration welled up. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, it’s not going to happen.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“This.” I gestured between us. “It won’t work.”

Christopher’s gaze darkened, his voice low and serious. “What won’t work?”

“This!” I nearly shouted, feeling everyone in the restaurant turn to look at us again. “I’m going to the restroom.”

I pushed my chair back and stood, my heart racing as I hurried toward the restroom. I needed a moment to breathe, to clear my head, before I completely lost control.

I kept walking, my heels clicking against the cold tile floor, not stopping until I saw the female sign above the restroom. Without hesitation, I pushed open the door and slipped inside, the cool air a welcome reprieve from the heat radiating off my skin. I scanned the stalls, relieved to find no one else there.

With a heavy sigh, I leaned against the sink, gripping the edges as my reflection stared back at me, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I closed my eyes, trying to focus, trying to breathe.

The rules were breaking.

I don’t like this.

“It was a mistake to go out with him,” I muttered to myself, my decision becoming clearer with each second. I couldn’t keep going like this. This was a contract, a damn job I was hired to do by his sister.

Alex had been clear—no sexual contact. And here I was, teetering on the edge, thinking about how his cock would taste like, wondering what it would feel like to drink him in like that wine he kept teasing me with.

I was too alive, too aware of him after just a few touches. My body felt like it was on fire, and I knew I needed to extinguish it before I did something I couldn’t take back. I needed an outlet. Maybe after the press conference in two days, I’d go home and call Steve.

No. Not Steve. He could never make me feel anything. He’d never made me feel this way, not like Christopher did with just a look. It was maddening. Every inch of my skin tingled just from the memory of his touch, of his eyes on me, devouring me.

“This needs to stop, Sarah,” I whispered, staring into the mirror. “You can’t let him in. Not like this.”

I turned on the tap, splashing cold water on my face, trying to ground myself. Focus. I practiced the words I’d say to him, forcing myself to stay calm.

“We need to forget about tonight,” I whispered to the mirror, rehearsing. “It was a mistake, so—”

“What’s a mistake?”

The voice sliced through my thoughts like a blade. My hand froze mid-motion as I turned toward the door. And there he was—the man who made my world tilt, standing in the doorway with that infuriating look of desire and fury in his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I barely managed to get the words out, my voice a shaky whisper.

Christopher didn’t answer. He just stared at me, his jaw tense, his gaze dark, burning into me. There was anger there, yes, but something else too. Something that made my stomach flip and my knees weak.

He took a step toward me, and instinctively, I moved back. But he didn’t stop. He just kept coming, his eyes never leaving mine as he closed the door behind him, the soft click echoing in the now-quiet room.

“What’s a mistake, Sarah?” His voice was low, dangerous, and it sent a shiver down my spine.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words I had practiced, the lines I had rehearsed, vanished from my mind. I couldn’t think. All I could feel was him—his presence, his heat, the way his gaze seemed to set my skin on fire.

“I…” My throat felt tight, the tingles spreading through my body, betraying me. I couldn’t even form a coherent sentence. My mind was blank, wiped clean by the intensity of his stare.

Somehow, without realizing it, I had backed myself into the wall. And in seconds, he was there, right in front of me, so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his body. Just an inch more, and it would be over. I’d lose myself in him, and we both knew it.

“You need to move, Chris.” I didn’t know how I managed to say it. My voice was barely a whisper, thick with emotion, with desperation. But I wasn’t even sure I wanted him to move. The air between us felt charged, electric. I was suffocating, and I liked it.

“Answer my question, love, and I’ll go.” His voice was so low, so deep, it sent vibrations straight through my core. He was so close, his breath fanning over my lips, making it impossible to think.

It was like every nerve in my body had come alive, every inch of me buzzing, aching for something more. I could feel his chest brush against mine with every shallow breath I took, and the way he whispered made my legs weak. That voice—dark, smooth—was quickly becoming my favorite sound.

I swallowed hard, my head spinning. “Chris…”

He leaned in, his lips so close they almost touched mine, his breath hot against my skin. “What’s a mistake, Sarah?”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. Every Word I had planned, every but of resolve I thought I had, shattered under the weight of his gaze.

This was wrong. I knew it. But I didn’t want him to stop. Not now.

His lips brushed my ear as he whispered so low, the sound nearly making me moan. “I wonder what the mistake is, Sarah,” he teased, his voice a dark, velvet promise that made my knees feel like they’d give out.

I couldn’t answer. I didn’t want to. Words had left me completely. All I could focus on was his hand, hot and possessive, sliding down to my hips. Slowly, deliberately, he began to raise the hem of my gown, his fingers brushing against my skin, igniting tiny sparks of heat everywhere he touched.

“Maybe the mistake is that you want me just as much as I want you,” he murmured against my ear.

A gasp slipped from my lips, turning into a soft moan as my hips instinctively moved, pressing against him. I could feel him, hard and ready, and that made everything inside me twist, coil with need. God, I wanted him so badly, it hurt.

“Give in, Sarah,” he breathed, leaving a trail of soft kisses down my neck. His lips were warm, and his hand slipped under my gown, finding my lingerie, his fingers teasing me, playing with the fabric in a way that made me tremble.

“Chris…” His name was a plea, one I could barely manage. My mind was screaming, but my body was betraying me, aching for more. I needed more. I needed him to touch me, to take me, so I could finally get him out of my system. But the thought of him leaving once this was over terrified me.

“Yes, love,” he whispered against my skin, his voice dark and thick with desire. He paused his kisses, his lips barely touching me, and I almost whined at the loss. “What do you want?”

His eyes locked onto mine, burning with such intensity I felt like I could drown in them. He was holding back, just barely, and I could see it—the desperation, the hunger. It was there, lurking beneath the surface, ready to explode at any second.

“Kiss me,” I breathed out, throwing all caution, all warnings, to the wind. “Please, kiss me—”

Before I could say another word, his hand gripped the back of my neck, firm but not harsh, and he crashed his lips against mine. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t soft. It was hard, claiming, like he couldn’t wait another second to have me.

His tongue slid past my lips, devouring me, and I instantly melted into him, pressing my body even closer, craving him with every fiber of my being. I had missed this. God, I had missed his lips, his touch, the way his kiss felt like it could consume me whole.

Each kiss was harder than the last, his hands gripping me like I was the only thing grounding him. He didn’t give me a chance to catch my breath, didn’t let me respond—he just took, over and over again, like he needed this as much as I did.

And then, suddenly, he lifted me, his hands sliding under my thighs, and I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively. My arms snaked around his neck, and he held me so tightly against him, his mouth still devouring mine as though I was his oxygen, and he couldn’t afford to stop.

I could feel everything—every single inch of him pressed against me. My body was on fire, burning up in his touch, in the way he held me, kissed me. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. It was just him—everywhere.

I hastily pulled my lips from his, gasping for air, but the breath was knocked out of me again when he thrust his hips against my core, moving so damn slowly that it pissed me off. My body screamed for more, for faster, for him to stop teasing me, but all he did was smirk against my skin, his mouth brushing my neck.

“Chris…” I whimpered, the need in my voice painfully clear.

“What, love?” His smirk deepened, a devilish look in his eyes that made me want to slap him and kiss him harder at the same time. “Want me to go faster?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My pride was holding me back.

He chuckled, dark and dangerous, his lips grazing my neck again, making me shiver. “I’ll stop, then.”

My eyes widened in panic as he slowed his movements, teasing me, and I gasped, tightening my hold on him.

"You won't," I said breathlessly,  desperate.

His voice dropped to a low growl, his lips grazing my ear as he whispered, "Watch me darling,"

●●●●●●●

It took all the strength in me not to drool
while writing this🔥🔥

More spice in the next chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it, cause I definitely did.