Chapter 28
1670 Words
✨The Rules I Broke.✨
Nasir Pov
Nasir had not meant to be gone so long.
What should have been three days turned into six—meetings stacked on meetings, negotiations that dragged past midnight, men who spoke in circles and demanded patience he no longer had. Another town, another set of obligations, another reminder that the life he lived did not leave room for softness.
And yet softness was all he thought about.
Flora’s face followed him into every room.
Her voice lingered in the silences between contracts.
The memory of her mouth—hesitant, warm, unsure—rose at the most inconvenient moments.
He had not seen her all week.
Not because he didn’t want to.
Because wanting her had begun to feel dangerous.
Each night in that distant town, he lay awake staring at ceilings that were not his own, wondering if she replayed the kiss the way he did. Wondering if absence would cool whatever fragile thing had sparked between them.
It didn’t.
By the time his car finally crossed back into the small town, impatience lived in his bones.
He went to the boarding house.
Not his house.
Not his office there.
Her.
---
They now walked together under the moonlight as he took her back to the boarding house.
Not speaking much.
Just the steady rhythm of their steps, the nearness that made his senses sharpen in ways they had no right to.
Halfway down the street, instinct tightened in his chest.
A shadow shifted in the mouth of an alley.
Nasir noticed it instantly.
A man, too still to be a passerby, presence deliberate.
His gaze did not change.
His pace did not falter.
He knew his men were already watching from across the street. Whoever lingered there would not last long if they meant harm.
Flora knew nothing of it.
And he would not give her a reason to be afraid.
Instead, he lifted his hand and signaled once, subtly.
Rafe would understand.
When the car arrived minutes later, smooth and silent, Flora looked at him in surprise.
“You didn’t have to—”
“I want to,” he said.
Rafe stepped out, nodding once.
He was leaning against the car when Nasir stopped beside him.
“This is Rafe,” Nasir said easily. “My best friend.”
Rafe straightened, polite but curious, eyes flicking between them once before settling on her. “Nice to finally meet you.”
Flora smiled, small and careful. “Nice to meet you too.”
Nasir didn’t release her hand.
The detail was subtle, but Rafe caught it.
“And this,” Nasir continued, voice calm, deliberate, “is Flora. She’s my girl.”
The words hit her harder than she expected.
My girl.
Not a girl.
Not someone he knows.
Not a vague introduction meant to keep distance.
Her breath caught before she could stop it.
She felt heat rush to her face, a mix of surprise and something dangerously close to pride—quickly chased by disbelief. No one had ever claimed her so plainly. So confidently. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Rafe’s eyebrows lifted just a fraction, then he smiled—wide and genuine. “Good to meet you, Flora,” he said, warmth settling into his tone. “Anyone Nasir brings into his orbit like this must be special.”
Flora glanced at Nasir, searching his face.
He didn’t look at Rafe.
He looked at her.
Steady. Certain.
Her fingers tightened around his hand before she realized she was doing it.
Rafe noticed.
Something unspoken passed between the two men—recognition, respect, understanding. Then Rafe stepped back, giving them space.
“I’ll pull the car around,” he said lightly. “Try not to scare her off, yeah?”
Nasir huffed a quiet breath that might have been a laugh.
When Rafe was gone, Flora finally spoke, her voice soft but unsteady.
“Your… girl?”
Nasir turned fully toward her now. “If that’s alright with you.”
She swallowed.
No one had ever given her the choice before.
“It’s just—” She shook her head, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “I’ve never been introduced like that.”
His thumb brushed her knuckles. “Get used to it.”
Her heart skipped.
And for the first time, she wondered what it would mean to belong somewhere—to someone—and not feel like she had to earn it.
The door shut behind them with a quiet click, sealing the warmth of the car around her.
Nasir slid in beside her before she could even gather herself, long legs folding easily into the seat. The moment he was settled, his arm came around her shoulders, natural and possessive, drawing her gently against his side.
Flora froze.
Not because she didn’t like it.
Because Rafe was in the front seat.
Her cheeks went warm instantly.
She could feel Nasir’s chest against her back, his breath brushing the top of her hair. His other hand rested at her waist, thumb moving in slow, absent circles as if they were completely alone.
She tried very hard not to melt.
Rafe glanced at them in the mirror, lips twitching.
“Well,” he said mildly, “this is new.”
Flora’s blush deepened.
Nasir only smiled.
“You drive,” he told Rafe, utterly unbothered. Then, lowering his voice near her ear, he murmured, “Relax. He’s seen worse.”
Her eyes widened. “Nasir—”
A quiet laugh vibrated through his chest.
“You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed,” he added softly.
She tried to sit up, to create some polite distance, but his arm tightened, keeping her right where she was.
“No escaping,” he whispered. “You’re mine tonight.”
Her heart nearly stopped.
Rafe cleared his throat loudly and started the engine. “I’m pretending I’m not here.”
Flora hid her face against Nasir’s shoulder, mortified.
He tilted his head, brushing his lips against her temple, lingering just long enough to make her breath hitch.
“You’re doing beautifully,” he teased. “Holding yourself together. Very impressive.”
She dared to look up at him, half-offended, half-smiling. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I am,” he admitted without shame. “You’re blushing for me.”
Rafe laughed quietly from the front.
Flora covered her face again, but she didn’t pull away.
And Nasir, satisfied, held her closer for the rest of the ride — as if the whole world already knew she belonged there.
---
At the boarding house, he walked her to the door, then up the narrow staircase that smelled faintly of soap and old wood. Every step felt heavier than the last, as if each one carried him closer to something he was not ready to name.
At her door, she hesitated.
“So… Sunday,” she said softly.
“Yes.”
A pause.
Then, quieter, “I’m glad you’re back.”
The words did something to him.
Before he could think better of it, he stepped inside when she opened the door.
It closed behind them with a soft, final sound.
The room was small. Neat. Warm with lamplight.
They stood too close without meaning to.
Neither spoke.
The silence pressed between them, thick with all the things they had not said all week.
Nasir lifted his hand slowly, giving her time to stop him.
She didn’t.
His fingers brushed her cheek, tentative at first, as if relearning the shape of her. Her breath hitched—not fear, but anticipation—and something in his restraint cracked.
He leaned in.
The kiss began carefully.
A question more than a claim.
Her lips were warm, uncertain, opening just enough to answer him. He followed the invitation, deepening it slowly, letting the moment stretch instead of rushing it.
He tasted her—soft, sweet, unmistakably her.
His hand slid to her waist, steadying himself as much as her.
For one dangerous second, control wavered.
The urge to pull her closer, to forget every rule he had built around himself, surged hard and fast.
He groaned quietly before he could stop it.
The sound startled them both.
Her fingers clutched the front of his coat, grounding him, as if she sensed the edge he stood on.
He broke the kiss, breath uneven, and pressed his forehead to hers.
“Flora,” he murmured, not as a warning, but a plea.
She answered by leaning into him again.
This time he kissed her more slowly, deliberately, as if reminding himself that restraint was still possible. His mouth traced the corner of her lips, her jaw, the soft skin just beneath her ear.
She shivered.
A quiet sound escaped her—nothing deliberate, nothing practiced, only instinct.
It nearly undid him.
He kissed along her neck, careful, reverent, lingering at her collarbone where her pulse fluttered wildly beneath his lips. One hand slipped to her back, holding her there, anchoring himself in the feel of her breathing.
Every inch of him was aware of how close he stood to losing the discipline that had kept him alive this long.
He forced himself to slow.
To memorize instead of take.
When he finally pulled away, both of them were breathing too fast.
Her eyes were dark, shining, full of questions she did not ask.
His hands still rested at her waist.
For a long moment, neither moved.
Then, gently—almost reluctantly—he let her go.
“This,” he said quietly, voice rough, “is exactly why I shouldn’t have invited you.”
She smiled, small and nervous and honest.
“But you did.”
“Yes,” he admitted.
And in that moment, standing in her doorway with restraint barely holding and his heart already far too involved, Nasir understood the truth with startling clarity:
Inviting her to his life had not bent the rules.
It had broken them.
- Writer
