I sat there, staring at him, my fingers tightening around the glass.
Rowan looked different tonight. Softer. Not in the way he dressed—he was still in that dark, fitted shirt—but in his eyes. There was something in them I hadn't seen before. Or maybe I just hadn't looked close enough.
"I didn't think you noticed me like that," I said quietly.
He let out a low breath and leaned back on the couch. "I noticed you from the start."
My heart was beating faster now. I didn't know what this was—what it was becoming. I came here for a drink, maybe a talk, but this felt deeper than I expected. Literally.
He turned his face toward me. "Living in the office isn't just about work for me. It's the only place where I feel like I can breathe."
I glanced around. It made sense. The place was calm, and not to lie it really was good at keeping anyone from the world outside. Just books, quiet, and Rowan.
"Then why let me in?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away. His hand reached out slowly, not to grab me, just to brush his fingers against mine where they rested on the sofa.
"Because I didn't want to keep shutting people out," he said. "Not you."
We sat in silence for a while. No words. Just his fingers lightly touching mine, and the city lights glowing through the window behind him.
Then, softly, he said, "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know."
But I didn't want to stay silent.
"I don't know what this is," I admitted. "But I want to find out."
He nodded, and the tiniest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Then he stood up and walked over to the large window, looking out. "I'm not a simple man, Jules," he said. "There are parts of my life I can't explain. Not yet."
I stood too, walking slowly over to him.
"You don't have to explain everything now," I said. "But if I stay... if I live here... I want the truth eventually."
He looked at me then. Serious. "You'll get it. But when the time's right."
I didn't know what that meant. I didn't know what I was walking into. But I knew that the way he looked at me wasn't fake. And somehow, that was enough—for now.
He held out his hand.
"Stay tonight?" he asked.
I took it. I wasn't sure what I was thinking, but I felt my head nod and I agreed to.
"Okay."
The moment I took his hand, something shifted between us. He pulled me gently toward him, and I followed without a word. There was no rush in his movements, no urgency—just quiet, building tension that made my breath feel shallow.
He guided me through a door at the back of the office. A bedroom. Simple, clean. The lights were dim, casting soft shadows on the walls.
Rowan turned to face me, his expression unreadable for a second, like he was still asking—still giving me the chance to back away.
I didn't.
He leaned in, slow and careful, and then his lips gently brushed against mine. It was soft at first. Thoughtful. But the longer our mouths stayed together, the deeper it got. My hands moved to his chest, feeling the heat under his shirt. He responded by slipping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.
The air seemed to have become dense at this moment. His lips moved from my mouth to my neck, he nibbed and licked me inch by inch. My head tilted back, and I felt his breath, warm against my skin. My fingers found the hem of his shirt and tugged gently. He let me pull it off.
He gently pulled away to glance at me again, searching my face, maybe for hesitation. There was none.
When he kissed me again, everything burned. The room felt too quiet, too still, like time was holding its breath around us. I could feel my legs grow weak, and then I almost couldn't.
I gently reached for his crotch, making little traces around it. It seemed pleasant to me; but then I got hold of myself....."what was I possibly thinking? This was my boss and I barely knew him." But some part of me was longing for this. Now it was me who glanced at him, he gently nodded and assured me that he wanted it as much as I did—or even more.
With this, I felt so much ease. I opened up his pants and made for his cock. He let out a soft gasp but it came out rather a moan.
I was feeling sore from the way he bit and sucked my body, but I loved it. It was like I was burning inside but it felt good.
I gently pulled him away with a smirk I wore on my face, I slowly crouched down to his waist and took his cock into my hands.
I didn't imagine things going this far....but I was loving every bit of it. I kissed his length and slowly took it into my mouth, he moaned softly and I caught a glimpse of him biting his lips. I sucked on him for as much as who knows. After this he took me up, he kissed me slowly while guiding me to the bed.
He carefully lowered me and I was just glancing at this perfect body towering over me.
We explored our bodies and this was just too good for me to discern if it really was true.
Later, I lay with my head on his chest, both of us silent. His fingers traced slow lines across my back. The city glowed outside the windows, but inside, everything was still.
I didn't know what this meant for us.
But in that moment, I didn't care.
I just wanted to stay there—wrapped in him, and the quiet.
---
When I woke, the room was still dark, but the sky outside had begun to turn a pale gray. I was warm, not from the duvet covers but from his breath and arms that were all over me, my body still humming from the night before. Rowan lay beside me, one arm draped over my waist, his breathing steady.
For a moment, I just watched him.
He looked peaceful. Not like the man who ran a company or the one with secrets hidden behind glass doors. Just… human.
I wanted to stay in that moment. Pretend that everything outside this room didn't exist.
But it did.
I slid out of bed slowly, careful not to wake him. My clothes were scattered on the floor, and I gathered them quietly before heading to the small bathroom down the hall.
The mirror caught me off guard.
My face looked different somehow. Flushed, maybe. Or just a little older. Like something had shifted inside me that couldn't be undone.
When I returned, Rowan was sitting on the edge of the bed, naked, running a hand through his hair.
He looked up as I entered, his gaze soft but unreadable.
"Hey," he said, voice still low from sleep.
"Hey," I echoed, not sure what else to say.
He reached for my hand, pulling me gently between his legs. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, then hesitated. "Are you?"
He smiled faintly. "More than I've been in a long time."
I believed him. But I also saw something in his eyes—something unsettled, like part of him had already drifted back into a something I didn't know.
"I don't want to just be someone you hide up here," I said.
His smile faded a little. "You're not."
"Then show me."
He stood, wrapped his arms around me, and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I will. But not yet."
That was the first time I felt it—a tiny crack in the perfect thing we were building. A warning I didn't want to hear.
I didn't press him. Not yet.
But I knew.
Something was coming.