Chapter 88
Mia didn’t know when it happened-when the air between them turned heavy, intense, like every glance and every breath carried the weight of a thousand unsaid words.
Her lips still burned from his kiss, but it was his eyes….dark, intense, unreadable…that held her in place. They weren’t filled with lust alone. They were filled with something deeper. Something that terrified and thrilled her all at once.
Alex’s hand slid slowly down her arm, fingers tracing a path to her waist.
He held her like she was made of glass, fragile and precious. But the tension between them was anything but fragile-it was fierce, electric, undeniable.
“Mia,” he murmured, her name falling from his lips like a vow.
She looked up at him, and that was all it took.
His mouth was on hers again, this time rougher, more urgent. His hands cupped her face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks as he kissed her like he was starving.
Mia gasped against his lips, and his hand slipped to the small of her back, pulling her against him. Her body melted into his.
Then they were stumbling back, toward the bed, never breaking contact.
Alex’s hands found the hem of her shirt, and he paused just long enough for their eyes to meet-a silent question lingering
in his
gaze.
Mia nodded, breathless. “Yes,” she whispered.
He peeled her shirt over her head slowly, as if revealing a secret.
Mia’s heart thundered in her chest, but she didn’t look away. Instead, her fingers tugged at his shirt in return, needing to feel him-his skin, his warmth, his presence.
Clothes fell in a tangled heap on the floor, forgotten.
Alex’s lips moved down her neck, leaving soft, burning kisses. Every touch set her nerves on fire. His hands roamed her body like he was learning her shape by heart, memorizing every curve, every breath, every shiver.
Mia’s hands explored him too….his strong back, the hard planes of his chest, the way his muscles tensed under her touch. He was beautiful and solid and real. And he was here. With her.
They sank onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and desire, mouths meeting over and over again-kissing like it was the only way to survive, to speak the things they couldn’t say out loud.
The world blurred at the edges. All that remained was the sound of their breathing, the slide of skin against skin, the heat that built between them until it was impossible to ignore.
Alex’s voice was a soft rasp near her ear. “Tell me if you don’t want this.”
Mia cupped his face, her eyes glassy but sure. “i do,” she whispered.
“You do what?”
“I want you”
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His kiss this time was softer-aching and slow-as he settled over her. Everything about the moment felt like falling and flying at once.
What followed wasn’t just heat. It was emotional, raw and vulnerable. It was a silent confession neither of them was brave enough to say.
By the time he slides inside her, Mia was surely gone from the world. They breath out each other’s name like a prayer.
“Mia” Alex groans over and over as he slides in and out of her.
Their bodies moved in sync, finding each other in every gasp and soft moan. It was messy and consuming and perfect.
When they finally lay tangled in the sheets, their skin sweaty and their breathing unsteady, Mia rested her head against Alex’s chest. His arm wrapped around her tightly, his fingers stroking her back slowly, rhythmically.
Neither of them said a word.
Because in that moment, nothing needed to be said.
Mia woke up slowly, blinking against the morning light shining through the window. Her eyes adjusted, and the first thing she saw was Alex.
He was sitting beside her on the edge of the bed, fully dressed, watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read.
His arms were loosely folded, one brow slightly raised, lips parted just a little like he’d been about to say something but changed his mind. The softness in his eyes startled her.
She froze.
As memories from the night before came crashing into her mind….his mouth on hers, his hands all over her skin, her body melting against his without resistance. Her cheeks flamed.
She blinked, scared. Scared that the Alex she had seen last night-the warm, soft-spoken, vulnerable one-had been a momentary illusion. Scared he would say something cruel, sarcastic, or cold like he usually did. That it had all been some twisted game after all.
But instead, he smiled.
A small, boyish smile that she had never seen on him before.
“Welcome back, sleepyhead.”
Mia’s heart twisted. Her throat tightened unexpectedly.
She blinked again, unsure of what to say. A soft smile tugged at her lips despite the storm of doubts inside her chest. “Hi,” she said, almost breathless, her voice barely above a whisper.
For a moment, it felt like time slowed. The two of them, wrapped in a fragile bubble of silence.
But then-
Her eyes widened.
Work. She had promised to run morning today.
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Chapter 88
She bolted upright in bed so fast the sheet slipped off her shoulders. “Oh my God-work!” she exclaimed, frantically looking around for her phone. Her hair fell into her face as she grabbed the device from the nightstand.
She checked the time.
Her stomach dropped. “I’m late!” she practically screamed.
Alex chuckled, the sound deep and relaxed. He leaned back a little, resting his arms on his thighs as he watched her. “Calm down,” he said with a teasing smile, his tone light.
Mia wanted to memorize that laugh. It was the first time she had heard it-really heard it. Not the sarcastic, mocking version he used when making snide remarks. But this. The real one. Warm, boyish. Human.
But she couldn’t linger on it.
She jumped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom like her life depended on it. Slamming the door behind her, she leaned against it, her chest heaving.
Her face was on fire.
Her entire body burns with the echo of what had happened between them. Her fingertips brushed her lips as if to confirm it had been real.
What did last night even mean?
Did he truly like her?
Her?
A Turner?
The thought sounded ridiculous. Alex Blackwell didn’t like girls like her.
And yet… last night, he hadn’t looked at her like she was less.
He had looked at her like she was everything.
She turned on the tap, splashing water on her face, trying to calm the turmoil inside her.
Her face flushed even deeper. She buried her face in a towel and groaned softly.
She didn’t have time for this. She was already late.
She cleaned herself up quickly and stepped out of the bathroom, her body wrapped in a towel. Her wet hair dripped softly down her back as she padded into the room.
And there he was.
Alex.
Still there.
Still waiting.
His eyes flicked up to her as soon as she walked in, and she swore the air between them thickened.
3/5
He was standing now, tall and compo
His eyes traced her from head to toe.
The way he looked at her made the towel feel entirely useless.
Mia’s breath caught as heat spread across her cheeks and and between her legs. She clutched the towel tighter around herself, but it didn’t help. The look in his eyes burned through everything.
He licked his lips-slow, deliberate.
Mia’s knees almost buckled.
He took a step toward her.
And then another.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, and something warm pooled in her stomach.
Her voice was barely steady. “Alex, I-I really have to go. I can’t miss the next bus.”
He was in front of her now, his eyes dark with something primal. His hand reached out, brushing a stray strand of wet hair from her face. “Bus?” he repeated softly, like it was a foreign word.
His thumb lingered on her cheekbone.
“What bus?” he asked again, voice lower this time. “I’m going to drop you.” he whispers on her lips
And before she could protest-before she could even think-
He kissed her.
It wasn’t like the kiss from last night. This one was deeper. Slower. More urgent and yet impossibly tender. Like he had been waiting hours just to feel her again.
Mia’s mind short-circuited.
She kissed him back instinctively, her fingers digging into his shirt. She didn’t mean to, but her body had already chosen him. She was gone.
And then-
Her towel slipped.
It slid down and fell at her feet, leaving her completely bare against him.
Alex inhaled sharply but didn’t stop kissing her. His arms wrapped around her. His hands caressed her back, her waist.
Mia let out a soft gasp into his mouth, her hands trembling as she clung to his shirt.
He pulled back for just a second, his eyes sweeping over her bare skin like he was memorizing every inch. His fingers brushed down her arm, gentle, reverent.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.
She looked up at him, chest rising and falling. “You really like me?” she asked, her voice breaking.
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Chapter 88
He leaned his forehead against hers. “I swear Mia, I want you. All of you. No games. No lies. Just you.”
Her eyes filled with something close to tears, but instead of falling, she leaned in.
Their lips met again, and for a moment, nothing else mattered-not the time, not the bus, not the past.
Just them.
And the way it felt to be wanted.
Mia believes him, she feels it, she feels him.
