His jaw flexed sharply, that familiar tick twitching near his cheekbone. Without saying a word, Leonardo stood up from the couch and slowly walked toward her, every step heavy, deliberate.
The quiet thud of his shoes on the floor sounded louder in the silence between them. Bella's breath caught in her throat as she instinctively stepped back—just slightly but her feet refused to move further. Her heart skipped and fluttered like a moth trapped in a glass jar.
Those storm-gray eyes... they weren't just cold now–they were smoldering. Controlled, barely, but full of something raw. The way he looked at her made her forget where she was. The way his gaze traveled over her dress—this one, the most daring of all—felt like heat brushing across her bare skin. The slit ran too high, the neckline dipped too low, and he was seeing all of it.
He stopped in front of her, too close. Too close for her brain to work.
