The drive home was a blur.
The city's neon lights painted streaks across the windows as Michael's hand rested on Hazel's thigh, his thumb tracing idle circles against her skin. Neither of them spoke — the weight of what they'd just done still heavy in the air. But there was something else now. A quiet electricity. The promise of what came next.
As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them in the penthouse, Hazel turned, grabbed Michael by his tie, and yanked him down into a kiss.
It wasn't soft.
It was the kind of kiss built from weeks of frustration, stolen glances, and unspoken words. Desperate and fierce, like they could taste the danger still clinging to the edges of their world.
Michael groaned against her lips, backing her up until she hit the wall. "Hazel…"
She tugged his tie loose and tossed it aside. "No more holding back."
His eyes darkened, something primal flickering there. "You have no idea what you're asking for."
"Then show me."
And he did.
Michael kissed her like a man unraveling, his hands everywhere — her waist, her hips, sliding beneath the hem of her blouse as if committing her to memory. Hazel moaned when his mouth trailed down her neck, teeth grazing sensitive skin.
"This was never just business for me," he murmured against her collarbone. "Not from the moment you tripped over your own damn feet at our engagement party and spilled champagne on my suit."
Hazel laughed breathlessly, her fingers in his hair. "Still your favorite story."
"It was the moment I knew you'd ruin me."
His words hit harder than they should have, sinking beneath her skin and straight to the places she kept carefully barricaded. But tonight… there were no walls left.
"I want to ruin you, Michael Graze," she whispered against his lips. "Completely."
A growl rumbled in his chest as he swept her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom, tossing her gently onto the bed. She barely had a second to catch her breath before he was over her, pinning her wrists to the mattress, his mouth claiming hers with a hunger that made her dizzy.
Clothes were discarded in a blur, and Hazel marveled at how this man — the ruthless, perfect, terrifyingly controlled businessman — could be so undone for her. Only for her.
He kissed every inch of her like a vow, whispered her name like a prayer, and when he finally moved inside her, it wasn't just bodies colliding.
It was everything unsaid.
Every fight.
Every smirk.
Every moment she'd caught him watching her when he thought she wouldn't notice.
And Hazel realized something she'd tried to deny for so long.
She was in love with this impossible man.
Completely.
Utterly.
Hopelessly.
When it was over, their bodies tangled in soft sheets and slicked skin, Michael brushed damp hair from her face.
"You're mine, Hazel Graze."
She smiled sleepily, her heart full. "Always."...