Chapter 3: Sharp Attraction

TORI

Derek leaned in, and the smell hit me. Liquor and cheap cologne, heavy enough to turn my stomach.

I kept my expression locked down, but my heart pounded hard against my ribs.

“Come on, Tori,” he murmured. His voice slithered low, slick with the kind of entitlement that made my skin crawl.

“Let’s go somewhere more private.”

“I want to see if you taste as sweet as you look."

Revulsion coiled in my gut. I forced a steady breath.

“I’m here to work, Derek. Move."

His smirk widened. His hand landed on my waist, his fingers pressing in.

Heat surged through me, sharp and furious. Not the kind he probably thought he inspired. Nothing seductive about it.

My fingers twitched, curling into a fist.

One more second and I’m putting him on the floor.

I twisted, ready to swing, but a voice cut through the air like a blade.

"Is there a problem here?"

Derek jerked back. His hand dropped from my arm as he turned toward the voice.

My pulse kicked hard, thudding through my chest. Adrenaline rushed in behind it, sharp and fast, until my hands started to shake.

I recognized the voice. Mr. Kincade. Aka Prick in a Suit.

He stepped between us, his presence swallowing the air in the room.

Derek swallowed hard. "N-no, Mr. Kincade. No problem at all."

Kincade didn’t blink. The silence dragged, heavy enough to choke on.

Derek shifted beside me. A sheen of sweat clung to his temple.

"You put your hands on her," Kincade said, voice sharp as ice. "You're fired. Get out, or I’ll throw you out myself."

Derek opened his mouth, a weak protest forming.

"I said now."

The voice cut through the noise like a whip.

Derek took off, disappearing into the crowd before I could fully register the shift. The danger passed, but it left something behind. A crawl under my skin I couldn’t shake.

I exhaled and rolled my shoulders, trying to force it out of my body.

Relief started to sink in. Then I felt his eyes on me.

I looked up.

That expression... it sent heat curling low and slow through my spine. Anger. Possession. Something sharp that felt a lot like protection.

I dropped my gaze.

“Thanks,” I muttered, the words small and awkward in my mouth.

Whatever he saw in my face must’ve irritated him. He stepped in without hesitation, the distance between us gone in a blink.

My back hit the wall before I could step away.

His fingers caught my chin, tilting my face up.

"Look at me, damn it."

Panic flared. His presence coiled around me. A shiver rippled through me, my body locking up in something far worse than fear.

Attraction.

And that pissed me off.

My jaw tightened.

"You’re not my boss here," I snapped. "First Derek the sleazebag, now you?”

Adrenaline tore through me, fast and blinding.

Before he could lock his grip, I twisted out of it and caught his wrist in a hold of my own, tight and unyielding.

His breath hitched for a second before I wrenched him off balance and drove him back. He hit the wall with a solid thud.

Satisfaction coiled in my gut and power surged through me.

I pressed forward, my chest heaving, muscles taut with defiance. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, loud and uneven.

His body radiated heat under my palms, his scent wrapping around me, thick and close. Too close.

Too close. Too overwhelming. Yet, I couldn’t step back.

His lips parted, surprise flashing for a beat before it slipped into something darker. Something smug.

He spoke low, smooth, unhurried. The kind of tone that made you want to either slap the smug off his face or lean in just to see what he’d say next.

“Ms. Valencia, first you checked me out in the elevator this morning, and now you’ve got me pinned. If you want to have your way with me, you can just say so.”

A slow blink. My mind stalled. My grip faltered.

“What?”

His grin sharpened.

“N... no!”

My hesitation cost me. Before I could move, he shifted. There was tension in him, tight and sudden, like he was made of wire pulled too far.

Then everything tilted.

My back slammed into the wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. He was right there, pressed against me, heat rolling off him. Too close. No space left to breathe.

The shift in power was instant. Total.

My pulse pounded. Not just from the fight. Something deeper twisted beneath it. Anger. Want. A reckless mix I couldn’t name and didn’t want to feel.

His mouth grazed my ear, voice low, smooth, laced with quiet amusement.

"But I like being the one in control."

A shiver crept down my spine. My body reacted before I could stop it.

Then I felt it. Something pressed into me.

Hard. Solid.

My stomach flipped.

What the hell is that?

My breath hitched. My gaze dropped without thinking.

And just like that, I knew.

The realization hit fast, hot and sharp. I snapped my eyes back up, heat crawling across my face.

"Is that...?"

He stilled, eyes narrowing like he was trying to read me. Then that insufferable smirk curved his lips.

“That, my sweet little warrior, is the effect you have on me.”

A rush of something hot and mortifying tore through me. Like my entire body flushed from the inside out.

"You—!"

I shoved him off, hard, breaking free.

My pulse bounced around inside me, wild and aimless.

“Get away from me, you perv!”

I didn’t wait. I turned and fled. Every breath felt like trying to swallow fire.

Damn him. His gaze pressed into me, heavy and unshakable. Like he knew exactly what he’d done.

I glanced back, couldn’t help it.

He stayed where he was, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, that slow, smug smirk pulling at his mouth.

Asshole.

I didn’t look back.

***

DANTE

I stood motionless, watching her retreat. She didn’t even look back. Still, she had me, every damn inch. Curiosity crept in like fog, thick and consuming, settling over me like mist that refused to lift. I couldn’t shake the need to unravel the enigma of the woman who had just stood her ground so boldly. People usually backed down. They didn’t challenge me.

She burned so brightly, but I knew that wasn’t the whole story. She wore her fire like armor, but I could see the cracks. Something more waited underneath. Vulnerable, hidden, and mine for the taking.

She was innocent.

The shock in her eyes had been too real, her reaction too unguarded. Need struck low and hard, spreading like wildfire through every nerve. She didn’t have a sugar daddy.

I usually stayed far away from virgins. I never had the patience or restraint they demanded. But with Tori? I’d make the damn exception.

Her fire hooked me. That sharp tongue, that defiant glare, the way she didn’t flinch when most would’ve folded. She was exquisite. Fierce beauty, untamed spirit. And still, somehow, pure. Innocent. That contrast was sharp and electric. Wild and untouched. It stirred something feral inside me.

I wanted to be the one to touch her. To coax out every shiver, every gasp. To show her everything she didn’t even know she could crave.

Straightening my jacket, I strode down the hallway. My pulse pounded. Every step fed the wildfire burning beneath my skin. I’d catch her. And she’d yield.

This game between us? It had only just begun.