Iris

My breath left my lungs all at once.He was shirtless, wearing only his trousers, the fabric hanging low on his hips, as if he’d forgotten the rest of the world existed. Light poured in through the high windows, tracing the lines of his body in a way that felt almost deliberate as though fate itself wanted me to see.

I froze.

I couldn't look away.

His torso was carved with quiet strength, broad shoulders, a chest that rise and fell steadily.

Every muscle defined without arrogance, I could see scars old and new scars, that wispered battles fought and survived, each one told a story I wasn't meant to know, but I wanted to. he was defined, built with decipline.

My gaze betrayed me , drifting lower following the shallow ridges of muscle down his abdomen.

Where strength met restraint, his skin held a warm tone, kissed by long day and long nights.

His arms , strong and veined looked capable of both protection and destruction. The kind of arm that could steady you, or undo you entirely.

I was still standing there, when he shifted.

Just slightly.

He turned.

Our eyes met.

That moment shattered whatever sense I had left.

There was a flicker of surprise in his gaze, ....gone almost instantly.

His eyes held mine, steady and intent as though he had felt the same pull anchoring me in place.

"Iris" , what are you.....

I...I didn't mean to, painfully aware that my eyes had not yet fully obeyed my intention to look away.

I finally tore my gaze from his , looking at the floor, though the image of him was already burned into me.

I'm sorry, I murmured. I will leave.

" You don't have to"

His voice stopped me before my feet could move, He hadn’t covered up. He hadn’t stepped away. He simply stood there, calm and unguarded.

Sense finally returned to me like a sharp sting, I nodded once unable to trust my voice, and turned away before he could say another word.

I pushed the door opened and slipped inside, shutting it firmly behind me.

My back pressed against the wood , the quiet of the room rapped around me, yet i could still feel the Storm inside.

I closed my eyes.

The image of Roshan bare, settling deep in my mind, heat still lingered in my skin.

I crossed the room slowly and sank onto the edge of the bed staring at nothing .

I had walked away.

I had done the sensible thing.

Yet my heart refused to believe it was over.

******

I walked up the field that morning, my chest still burns with yesterdays encounter.

Roshan already stood at the training ground when I arrived, he stood with his arm crossed. He did not smile, he did not nod, he simply measured me , and I felt measured in return.

I moved through the drills, swords in hand, but my movement were sharper now and controlled. Some of the worriors showed respect, well others smirked when my name was mentioned.

Roshan stood at the edge arm crossed and waiting.

I hated him for that, not because he was there but because he made me feel I was walking a tightrope without a safety net.

You're letting your thoughts control you, he said coming closer.

"I'm focusing '' I replied I knew he wouldn see through the lie immediately.

"You're not." Stepping closer , closer than usual. You need to focus iris , thinking of others, thinking of things that isn't here it's going to burn you.

I wanted to deny it, but i couldn't.because even standing there heart raising, I knew he was right.

I'm not weak, I said . My voice louder then intended.

Roshan studied me quietly, like he could see the very blood pumping in my veins.

You think this is weakness, he said finally. Weakness isn't something you fear, Fear is.

My hands tightened around the sword, my breath came fast. I am not afraide of you.

" You should be," he said with a smirk, his gaze hevy, measured weighing every inche of me. I hated the way it made my body respond, he stepped closer, not touching. But close enough that I could smell the sharp tang of him. He filled my senses with a sweet scent.

" You think you are ready, do you think you can control everything.

Control isn't about stopping, it's about knowing when to let go, and when to hold back.

" Are you trying to scare me ," ?

I'm just trying to make you understand something important.

"And what if I fail".

You will, many times but failure is not weekness, it is awareness.

The way he stood there watching me, knowing what i felt, it was maddening.

And I hated myself from wanting more, I didn't know how to describe this feeling, I shouldn't have such thoughts about him.

"You think I see you as weak", he said his voice low." But I do not." I see what you will become.

I could barely speak, "Why do you...my words faltered.

Because if I do not , you will never survive this , and because if I do not I will loose control of myself.

I wanted to step closer, I wanted to understand I wanted everything I could not have.

He turned then stepping away to attend to another worrior, leaving me trembling and exhausted.

I sank to the sand, I hated him.

I wanted him.

I feared him.

I longed for him.

and in the mixture of emotions, I realised the truth, I was actually under his control.

Whether I wanted to admit it or not.

***

Roshan walked back to his chembers , steadying his steps , the training has ended but his mind has not settled.they carried weight of a forbidden desires , he slammed his door behind him , pacing around.

Her name came to him uninvited, settling deep like a sin in his heart he couldn't confess.

He had no right to think of her this way, the fire in her eyes , the resilient in her voice...she spoke without fear.

He closed his eye so tight , desire was a dangerous thing, it made men careless, weak. He had spend years mastering control but this little Iris spark the fire in him.

This must end , he wouldn't train her anymore, avoidance , distance has always been his cure , if he had no longer trained her , if he no longer stood close enough to hear her heartbeat, or the tension in her gaze, then it will fade away. It had to.

just the , the door opened.

A very familiar presence came in.

" Aaron?"