Chapter 06

IRIS POV:

I hated the way my body responded to the voice of someone I had just met a few hours ago.

“I don't know what you're saying,” I lied. I totally knew what he meant.

I looked behind him. There was the door. I could simply run away from him and head out, but my feet and body just couldn't move. This feeling was different, more like a compelling power.

Why was his presence commanding my body more than even me, the owner of it?

He took a step closer. “You're a bad liar, you know,” he whispered.

My body instantly went still. I managed to look into his eyes, which were glowing golden. I felt lost in them.

Aurelian lifted his hand slowly and brushed the back of his knuckles down my cheek. The touch was light but electrifying. It sent heat racing under my skin like fire chasing dry grass. My breath caught. I should have stepped back. I should have slapped his hand away. Instead, my eyelids fluttered, and a soft, involuntary sound slipped from my lips, like a surrender.

He smiled at that sound as if he were satisfied. His thumb traced the line of my jaw, then dipped lower to the edge of the towel where it met my collarbone.

He didn’t pull.

He just rested his fingers there, feeling the way my pulse hammered against his skin.

“You feel it too,” he murmured. His voice was so low it vibrated through me.

I wanted to deny it. I opened my mouth, but the only thing that came out was a shaky exhale. My nipples tightened under the towel without permission. Heat pooled low in my belly, slow and heavy, making my thighs press together.

Traitorous.

My own body was betraying me, responding to him like it recognized something I refused to name.

He leaned in slowly, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his chest and smell that same cedar-smoke scent that had wrapped around me in the car. His lips hovered near my ear.

“Let me show you how good it can feel to stop fighting,” he said softly.

One hand slid to the small of my back, fingers spreading wide, pulling me the tiniest inch forward until our bodies almost touched. The towel suddenly felt too thin. Too useless. My heart pounded so hard I was sure he could feel every beat against him.

His other hand moved up, cupping the side of my neck gently, his thumb rubbing the sensitive spot under my ear. The touch was slow, like he had all the time in the world. My head tilted toward his hand on its own, giving him more access without me meaning to. A quiet whimper escaped me, barely audible, but he heard it. His grip tightened just a fraction, possessively.

Then he lowered his head. His lips brushed the corner of my mouth, not a full kiss, just a tease. Soft. Warm. My lips parted instinctively.

He took the invitation, pressing his mouth to mine fully this time. The kiss was slow at first, but when I didn’t pull away, he deepened it.

His tongue slipped past my lips, tasting me more deeply.

My hands, still clutching the towel, finally moved. One fisted in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away. The other slid up to his neck.