Chapter 14 - UNGUARDED MOMENTS
The distance between us vanished until there was barely a breath of air left to divide us.
I looked up into his striking gray eyes,
seeing all the carefully constructed armor of the billionaire CEO completely stripped away.
“You were at JFK for a reason that day,
” I realized aloud,
remembering how his embrace had felt desperate rather than mechanical.
“Weren't you?
”
Alexander’s jaw tightened slightly,
his gaze dropping to the floor for a brief moment before returning to mine.
“It was the third anniversary of my younger sister’s death,
” he confessed,
his voice dropping into a raw,
gravelly whisper.
“She loved Boston,
but she passed away in an accident overseas.
I had just flown in from London after handling her estate matters.
I was hollow,
cold,
and entirely closed off to the world.
”
My heart ached for him.
All the power,
the wealth,
and the imposing suits were merely a fortress built to keep the grief locked inside.
Without thinking,
I reached out and placed my hand gently against his cheek.
His skin was warm,
his stubble rough beneath my fingertips.
He closed his eyes at the contact,
leaning instinctively into my palm like a man starved for genuine human warmth.
“And then a crying woman in a sensible coat grabbed my lapel and demanded a hug,
” he murmured,
a faint,
melancholic chuckle escaping his lips.
“You broke right through my defenses without even trying.
”
“I’m sorry for ruining your jacket,
” I whispered softly.
“Stop apologizing for the jacket,
Eve,
” he said,
his voice husky as his hands came up to rest gently on my waist.
“That jacket saved my life.
”
His hands pulled me flush against his chest.
The embrace was no longer the awkward,
hesitant hug of a stranger at an airport terminal.
It was deep,
deliberate,
and filled with an overwhelming tide of unspoken longing.
When he lowered his head and pressed his lips softly against mine,
time seemed to stop entirely.
His kiss was tender yet hungry,
tasting of aged wine and quiet desperation.
My hands slid up around his neck,
tangling in his dark hair as I kissed him back with all the passion I had locked away inside myself.
The cold winter wind howling outside the penthouse glass could no longer touch us.
May you like
We were two broken souls who had collided in the chaos of an airport,
only to find our salvation in each other's arms.
