Chained By His Heat.
1659 Words
Chapter 8.
The jewelry box sat on the counter and I just glared at it, contemplating between walking away and actually going to deliver it. But do I even have a choice? This is not about him. This is about business and I have to follow it dutifully.
I will deliver this to him, not because I want to, but because this is business and I have to.
*
The necklace box felt heavy in my hand even though it was light.
As I drove up the long road the map was currently leading me to, the weight of this action pressed on my thumping heart, but I kept telling myself the same thing… that this was only business and nothing more.
The map led me to the front of a tall iron gate which opened seconds later, leading me deeper into the vast compound.
The air in the car changed, following the warmth in the compound. I took a quick glance at the building before me.
His house was nothing like the usual. It was huge and bold like the owner, shining under the sunlight like the kind of place meant to swallow people whole.
When I parked at the lot, I stepped out, my legs weak beneath the shelter of my gown.
I rang the bell once, and a middle-aged woman, probably the housekeeper, opened the door a minute later.
“Good evening…” I greeted, and she gave me a warm polite smile.
“Mr. Maxwell is expecting you. Please, come in.”
The air in my throat vanished and I stared at her with slightly wide eyes.
Expecting me?
Without another word, I followed her into the wide quiet mansion, my heels clicking softly against the shiny floor.
The scent of the mansion clung to me. Everything smelled rich… like polished wood, leather, and something faintly musky that found ways to remind me of him.
“Please wait here,” the woman said, leading me into a space that looked like a personal living room with windows and soft leather chairs. “He will be down shortly,” she added, and I nodded quickly, clutching the box tighter in my hand.
The housekeeper left and silence fell over the room, wrapping so hard around me I could suddenly hear the sound of my racing heart.
I sank into the chair, pressing the box to my lap like a shield.
A few minutes later, I heard the slow sound of footsteps on the stairs.
When I looked up, Maxwell was coming down, one hand in his pocket, his gaze locked on mine like I was the only thing that existed.
My throat locked and my body froze to the chair, my eyes subconsciously dragging across his body. His broad shoulders and chest sat perfectly under his t-shirt, hugging his biceps.
The air in my lungs vanished and I ran my eyes down the veins that ran down his forearm, stretching so thick they stirred something within me.
Focus! A voice in my head snapped and I blinked away.
“Clara.” His thick voice came in a low hum and my stomach tightened. The memories of that night slipped in again… every moan, every compliment.
I blinked back the thoughts, standing up at once.
“Here… I am here to deliver this,” I said in a semi-shaky voice, stretching the box of necklaces between us. Even if every nerve in me was crawling, I refused to cower.
Silence settled into the room and we both stood still. He didn’t take the box from me, instead he just allowed his gaze to linger on my body, drinking me in, in the most subtle and intentional way I hated to admit.
My skin prickled, burning under the weight of his tender glare.
A soft exhale slipped past his lips, then he reached for the box, taking it from me.
His fingers grazed mine and a cold shiver ran up my spine.
I took a step backward.
“Clara…” He called, his voice still calm and composed.
“I am only here to deliver the box,” I said, reaching for my bag which was on the couch.
His lips curved for a second, then he asked, “That’s all?”
“Yes…” I said firmly. “I do not want to be part of you and Leo’s drama.”
The smile on his lips vanished and his brows arched. “Drama?” He asked, seeming a bit confused.
“Yes… I don’t want to be part of you and Leo’s deal,” I said, my voice cracking at the end.
Maxwell’s eyes darkened and he took a step closer. “There is no deal, Clara.”
“Then what is this about?” I asked, tired and confused all at once. I hadn't meant for the words to come out that way but it did.
“It’s about us, Clara. It’s about everything we share.”
“It was a mistake,” I said, turning to leave, but he gripped my wrist, pulling me closer.
My breath hitched, the warmth of his palm seeping into me.
“Why are you running from this? From what you feel?” he asked firmly, and I tried to pull away but his grip on my wrist tightened.
My body tensed, threatening to betray me. “I feel nothing,” I said, looking away from him.
Silence draped over the room for some seconds, then his finger came against my chin, forcing me to look back at him.
The tension in the room stretched and his dark gaze locked against mine, stirring something dangerous within me.
My chin twitched, burning from the warmth of his finger.
I blinked back, trying to look away, but his grip on my chin tightened and he kept my gaze fixed on his.
“Keep your eyes on mine and tell me that there is nothing between us…”
The weight of his words pressed on me and I suppressed the lump that formed against my throat.
My lips parted to say a word but nothing came out of my mouth. I should tell him nothing happened. I should be able to tell him nothing happened between us, but no words left my lips and that frustrated me more than the situation.
Maxwell’s gaze softened, and he took a step closer, cupping my cheeks gently into his warm palm. I should pull away… I should push his hand away from my cheeks and run away, but heat rose beneath the layers of my skin, my body betraying me as he covered the distance between us.
“I want you.” Maxwell said in that same certain tone that I hated to admit was damn sexy.
My heart skipped and I blinked back, caught between giving a reply and pulling away, but he didn’t even give me a chance to. He just brushed his thumb against my cheeks and his voice came again.
“Let’s do this, Clara. Leo already proposed an open marriage… let’s play along… Let’s take this chance to build us.”
His words crashed into me, burning a part of me that had settled into his touch.
My heart clamped and Leo’s words filled my head. “If Maxwell had a nice time, then I don’t mind sharing you with him.”
Pain lodged in my chest and I pulled away immediately. So there is really a deal, huh?
Maxwell’s brows arched. “Clara…” he called, taking a step forward, but I replaced it.
“Don’t…” I said, stretching a hand between us.
A hint of confusion glimmered beneath his eyes.
“I don’t want this. I don’t want to be some deal between you and Leo.”
His jaws clamped and he shook his head negatively, taking a step closer. “That’s not what you are, Clara. You are not a deal between Leo and I and I would never reduce you to that.”
A flicker of truth glimmered in his eyes, but my broken heart could not help but believe that there wasn’t more to this.
Maxwell reached a hand forward and before I could pull away, his hand already gripped my arm, pulling me closer to his.
My body shuddered, his slow and deliberate touch sending fire straight up my arm.
God! I should pull away… I could, but how could I? When his other left hand sneaked to my waist, holding me there like they were meant to be.
My skin burned, every touch lighting me up like fire.
His right hand came up my cheeks, cupping my face into his palm, his eyes dragging across my face, unraveling every nerve inch by f*****g inch till I felt myself slowly melting against my will.
“Let’s be open,” he proposed softly, brushing his thumb against my burning cheeks.
Heat rose between my thighs and my legs wobbled, the space between us growing thinner and thinner with every second.
My heart thumped rapidly against my chest… hating myself for wanting this… hating myself for the ache in my chest, for the way my thighs pressed together when his hand trailed lower, cupping the side of my neck in a way that unraveled every nerve.
“I want you…” he said again, and this time I didn’t even know if he was saying it or asking permission.
I didn’t know if I wanted him, or at least wanted this… but my body does, because my walls were clenching and tingling from whatever this was and I just wanted him to claim me.
The air between us grew thinner and his eyes lingered on mine, his face growing unbearably close.
My lips twitched softly, and I looked deeper into his eyes, only for a second because he leaned in completely, claiming my lips into his in one deep arching kiss that promised ruin and filth.
- Writer
