The next day blurred. Naomi couldn't focus. Every contract clause and witness statement bled into the next, because all she could think about was Luca—his nearness, the way his voice had curled under her skin like smoke.
She told herself it was a line she wouldn't cross.
But her body remembered the way his fingers had hovered near her pulse point. How close he'd come without taking.
He hadn't touched her. Not really.
But it felt like he had.
That night, the office felt haunted with his presence. Every shadow down the hall reminded her of him. At 10:14 p.m., she stood from her desk and locked her office door.
She didn't know if it was to keep him out—or to trap the thought of him in.
Her phone buzzed.
> Luca: I'm downstairs. Come with me. Just for a drive.
No reply.
> Luca: Naomi. One hour. You don't even have to talk.
She stared. Every instinct said no. Every ache said yes.
When she slid into the passenger seat of his midnight-black Jaguar, she didn't speak. Neither did he. They drove with the windows cracked, the city spilling in through the wind.
They ended up on a quiet overlook above the river, where the skyline glittered like broken glass. Luca parked and didn't touch her. His hands stayed tight on the wheel.
"I need you to understand," he said, voice strained, "I'm not playing with you. If we do this... it's not a game."
Naomi turned to face him. "And if I told you I'm not sure I can stop?"
Luca's jaw flexed. The car was too quiet. Every heartbeat was too loud.
He reached for her slowly—giving her time to pull away. But she didn't. His fingers brushed her cheek, tracing the edge of her jaw like it might break beneath him.
Their first kiss didn't explode—it simmered. It was slow, uncertain, the kind of kiss that tasted like restraint and danger and all the things they shouldn't want.
Naomi's hands slid into his hair, tentative, tugging him closer. His breath stuttered against her mouth.
Still, they didn't go further. Not yet.
They parted, foreheads pressed together, breathing hard.
"I need more time," she whispered. "I want this... but I want it to mean something."
Luca smiled faintly, tracing her lower lip with his thumb. "Then I'll wait."
And just like that, the burn flared hotter.