Karen's heart thudded loudly in her chest as Alex stepped forward, his tall frame barely lit by the moonlight.
"Talk?" she repeated, unsure whether to run, scream, or… stay.
Alex didn't respond immediately. He studied her for a moment, as if trying to find the right words, an unusual hesitation for someone usually so cold and calculated.
"About earlier," he finally said. "At the dinner. You looked… uncomfortable."
Karen crossed her arms. "I wonder why?maybe it had something to do with the way you were staring at me like I'd committed a crime."
He didn't smile. His jaw tightened, his eyes darkening a shade.
"I was watching," he admitted, "because I don't trust everyone here especially when it comes to you."
Karen blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means people talk. A little too much about you.
Some admire you, others resent you, but none of them are invisible to me."
She inhaled sharply, unsure how to respond. A part of her wanted to lash out and ask why it even mattered to him. But another part… the part she didn't like acknowledging wanted him to say more. To explain this confusing obsession he had with her.
"Alex" she said carefully. "You confuse me."
His gaze dropped briefly to the bracelet on her wrist, the one he gave her. "Good. Maybe that means you're paying attention."
"That's not fair."
"Neither is the way you look at Luca sometimes," he said, suddenly, his voice dropping lower.
"Or how you laugh at things he says when I know damn well he's not that funny."
Karen's eyes widened. "Are you… jealous?"
He stepped closer, his expression hard but his voice low and rough. "I don't do jealousy, but I do hate being ignored."
Her breath hitched. "You're my boss."
"I know," he said. "And it's messing with my head."
They stood in silence, the space between them taut like a wire stretched too far. Karen didn't know what to say. Alex never opened up..not like this. And here he was, practically unraveling in front of her.
But just as she opened her mouth to speak, the garden lights flickered. A voice called out in the distance...someone searching for Alex.
He looked over his shoulder, then back at her.
"We'll finish this conversation," he said. "Soon."
And then he was gone, swallowed by the shadows of the night, leaving Karen breathless and more confused than ever.
She stood there for a long moment, replaying his words, trying to make sense of everything.
What was happening between them wasn't just a simple attraction anymore.
It was something deeper,
Darker,
And dangerously consuming.