It had been a simple touch, almost accidental—just the briefest of moments when their hands brushed together. But the way her fingers lingered, just a fraction longer than expected, made the air between them thicken, heavy with unspoken intent. He had told himself not to react, to keep his distance, but the warmth of her hand against his was impossible to ignore.
They had been talking, the conversation flowing easily, yet his attention kept straying back to the feel of her touch, the soft pulse of her skin beneath his. It wasn’t even the way she had reached out. It was how her fingers had danced along his hand, as if tracing something hidden just beneath the surface. The small movement had felt deliberate, as if she was testing him, seeing how far he would let her go.
He tried to pull his hand away, to ignore the simmering heat rising between them, but her fingers were gentle yet insistent. She hadn’t let go, not yet. Instead, her touch seemed to have a magnetic pull, and despite every instinct urging him to break free, he found himself unwilling to pull away entirely. She was close now—so close he could feel the warmth of her body, the faintest scent of her perfume lingering in the air between them.
Her eyes flickered up to meet his, and for a moment, the world around them seemed to fade. There was no question in her gaze—only a quiet challenge, an invitation. And as her fingers brushed against his once more, this time deliberately, he felt the surge of heat that ran through his veins, threatening to give away the tension he had worked so hard to suppress.
“Don’t,” he wanted to say, but the word caught in his throat. It wasn’t just the touch—it was everything she was, the way she moved, the way she looked at him like she knew exactly what effect she had on him. Her fingers held him captive, not with force, but with the subtle, unspoken promise that more was to come.
And despite the warning bells in his mind, despite the battle raging inside him, he couldn’t bring himself to let go. She hadn’t just touched him. She had marked him, claimed that moment for herself, and now he was trapped in the heat of her lingering touch, the pulse of desire that he could no longer ignore.