Tina stood at the edge of the crowded room, a glass of wine cradled between her fingers. The hum of voices, the clink of glass, the laughter-it all felt like a distant hum to her. She didn't need to hear it. She could feel the weight of their secrets like a storm gathering in the air. And she hated it.
The curse had been with her for years, but every time someone brushed against her skin, she couldn't help but shiver. It wasn't the touch that bothered her-it was the flood of hidden truths that came with it. The guilt. The lies. The raw, unfiltered shame of a world too selfish to show its face.
But then, his presence cut through the noise like a blade.
James.
He was the reason she'd found herself at this stupid charity gala in the first place. The infamous CEO, the one everyone whispered about-the man with an empire built on power, wealth, and a trail of broken promises.
Her fingers tingled when she saw him across the room, his cold eyes scanning the crowd with a detached gaze. He moved like he owned the entire space-because he did. His dark suit clung to him in a way that made it seem like it was tailored by the gods themselves. Even his presence felt sharp.
And yet, when her gaze met his... there was nothing. Just emptiness.
It shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, Tina was used to the flood of emotions, the blur of truths spilling into her mind the second someone came close. But with him?
Silence.
Not a single secret, not a whisper of guilt. She could almost hear the beat of her heart in her ears as she took a step forward, drawn by some force she couldn't explain.
Her fingers brushed against his sleeve as she passed, and for a moment, the world held its breath.
Nothing.
No revelations. No sudden surge of truth. Just... nothing.
It was the strangest feeling she'd ever experienced.
James turned his head slightly, his eyes locking onto hers. No surprise, no curiosity-just an unreadable expression that chilled her to the bone.
"You're... different," he said, his voice low, almost as if he knew exactly what had happened.
Tina swallowed, trying to ignore the pounding of her pulse. "I'm not the one you should be worried about."
For a moment, neither of them moved. The tension between them thickened, and she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something dangerously unpredictable about him. Something he was hiding-and she was going to find out what it was.
Tina stood frozen for a heartbeat, her fingers still hovering over his sleeve. She had touched countless people in her life, yet no one had ever felt like this. No secrets. No shame. Nothing. It was like touching a stone-cold, impenetrable, and terrifying in its stillness.
Her breath hitched, the silence ringing in her ears. She couldn't explain it. She should've felt something. Anything. But there was just... nothing.
James's gaze never wavered as he studied her, an eerie calmness in his eyes that sent a shiver down her spine. He wasn't looking at her with interest or curiosity. It was as if he was waiting for her to figure something out. The heavy weight of his stare was almost suffocating.
Tina lifted her chin, her own composure quickly snapping back into place. "What's your game, James?"
He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into a small, knowing smirk. "My game?" His voice was soft, but there was an edge to it, like a blade hidden beneath velvet. "I'm afraid you're the one who's playing games here, Tina."
Her pulse quickened, but she refused to let him see any hint of weakness. "I don't play games."
"No?" His eyes flicked down to where her fingers still lingered, inches from his sleeve, as if testing her resolve. "Then why haven't you moved yet?"
Tina's stomach twisted, the tension between them thickening with every word. It was as if he knew exactly how she felt, how unsettled she was by the lack of secrets, the strange emptiness that surrounded him. She hated it. She hated that he had control over the one thing that had always been her strength.
Her voice was steady, but inside, her thoughts churned. "I'm just... trying to figure you out."
"Good luck with that," he replied, the smirk never leaving his face. His gaze darkened just a fraction, and she realized, for the first time, that he wasn't just watching her. He was studying her. "You won't find anything."
Tina's fingers twitched, her need to touch him again-just once more-almost overwhelming. She didn't know why. Maybe it was her curiosity, or maybe it was the challenge in his voice. But she couldn't let him see how badly she wanted to break through that silence, to uncover whatever secret he was hiding from her.
"You don't think I'll find anything," she said, her voice low, almost teasing. "But what if I do?"
James's expression remained unreadable, but something in his eyes flickered-just for a split second-like a spark ready to ignite. "Then you'll have made a very dangerous mistake."
The warning hung in the air between them, thick and palpable. Tina couldn't decide if it was fear or excitement that twisted inside her, but she wasn't ready to back down.
"Maybe," she said, holding his gaze. "But I'm used to danger."
The rest of the gala passed in a blur for Tina. She could barely focus on the chatter around her, the polite smiles, or the empty compliments. Her mind kept drifting back to him-James-and that insidious, suffocating silence that wrapped around him. The lack of any truth at all left her feeling... vulnerable, like a piece of her was missing. Something was off, and she wasn't going to rest until she figured it out.
The evening was winding down when she saw him again, standing at the edge of the balcony, gazing out at the city lights below. The perfect image of cold indifference. His dark suit blended with the night, and his posture screamed control-like he owned the very air around him.
She didn't want to go to him, didn't want to push too far. But something in the pit of her stomach told her it was the only way to make sense of this. The only way to make him slip, even if just for a second.
Tina stepped onto the balcony, the cool night air hitting her skin like a shock. She walked toward him, her heart pounding, her thoughts scrambling for something, anything to say.
"You know," she said, her voice carrying the weight of her frustration, "I've met plenty of people in my life who couldn't hide their worst secrets. But you... you're different. Too different."
James didn't turn to face her at first. His silence was a challenge-one she wasn't going to back down from. But when he did turn, the cool, indifferent mask was gone. His eyes flashed with something darker, something unreadable. His lips parted, but for a moment, it was like he was measuring her, weighing the situation carefully.
"You think I'm hiding something?" His voice was quieter now, but the threat in it was clear.
Tina held his gaze, refusing to look away. "Everyone hides something. Everyone but me."
For the first time that night, James took a step closer to her, closing the distance between them. Her heart skipped a beat at the intensity in his eyes.
"That's where you're wrong," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Some things are better left untouched."
Tina felt the pull of his words, felt the weight of his presence like a physical thing pressing down on her chest. It was hard to breathe, hard to think, but she couldn't let him win this. She wasn't the kind of person who let things slide. Not now, not ever.
"Then why am I still standing here?" she challenged, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her.
James was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, without warning, he stepped even closer. Close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, the sharp edge of his scent. It was almost too much. Too intimate.
"Because you can't help yourself," he said, his voice low, dark, and impossibly close to her ear.
The words struck her like lightning. The challenge was clear: He wasn't afraid of her. He was playing with her, testing her limits.
She swallowed hard, her pulse pounding in her ears. But instead of stepping back, she held her ground. "Maybe you're right," she whispered, her breath betraying her calm demeanor. "But I'm not afraid of you either."
For a moment, neither of them moved. The world outside the balcony seemed to disappear. It was just the two of them-tangled in a web of secrets, lies, and something else that neither of them could define.
James's eyes softened, just a fraction, and Tina felt the briefest flutter of doubt. Was he not as impenetrable as he wanted her to believe?
"Careful, Tina," he said softly. "There are some secrets you might not want to uncover."
The night was closing in, the soft murmur of voices around them slowly fading into nothing as the world shrank to just the two of them on that balcony. Tina could feel the heat rising between them-an electricity that had nothing to do with the warmth of the evening air. It was raw, sharp, and dangerous.
She tried to step back, but James was already there, his body a solid wall that she couldn't ignore, a presence that surrounded her in a way she didn't expect. Her breath caught in her throat as he took another step forward, his eyes darkening with something that made her pulse race.
"You really think you can just keep pushing me away?" His voice was low, barely above a whisper, but it carried with it a dangerous undertone that sent a thrill down her spine.
Tina swallowed hard, trying to regain her composure, but it was hard. Too hard. There was a part of her that wanted to step back, to escape from the feeling of his closeness, but another part of her-an electric, dangerous part-wanted to lean into it.
"You don't scare me, James," she said, forcing her voice to sound steady. But inside, she wasn't so sure. He was too close now, too intense, and the air between them felt heavy with something unspoken, something volatile.
James's lips curled into a knowing smile, his eyes never leaving hers. "No? Maybe I should."
Before Tina could react, he reached up, his fingers grazing her arm lightly. The contact was brief, but it was enough to send a wave of heat rushing through her. She froze, her breath hitching. It wasn't the touch itself-it was the sudden flash of something that surged inside her when their skin connected. Power. Control. And the strange, addictive pull she couldn't ignore.
His voice dropped even lower, now a mere breath against her ear. "You want to know the truth, Tina? I could make you forget everything you think you know. I could make you crave things you didn't even know you wanted."
Her heart raced, her pulse pounding in her ears. She could feel the weight of his words settling over her, heavy and suffocating. The way he was looking at her now-no longer cold, but full of quiet temptation-had her torn between the fear of losing control and the excitement of seeing just how far they could push this.
"Is that what you want?" she whispered, her own voice betraying her with a hint of curiosity. A challenge. She was giving him a challenge.
James's gaze darkened, his lips almost brushing hers as he spoke. "I'm not sure if I want you to want it, Tina. But I do know one thing." His hand slid down her arm, his fingers just grazing her skin as he stepped even closer, his breath mixing with hers.
"What's that?" she asked, barely able to breathe as he leaned in, his lips dangerously close to hers.
"You're already mine," he said, his words dripping with dark promise.
The world seemed to tilt. Tina's heart skipped a beat, her mind spinning as the weight of his words sank in. There was no doubt now. He was pushing her-testing her limits, playing a game with her mind, and she wasn't sure if she was losing or winning.
But there was one thing she did know:
She wanted more.
Tina's pulse raced as she stood there, the night air thick with tension. The heat between them was suffocating, and yet, she couldn't make herself leave. James had stepped into dangerous territory, his words dancing dangerously close to the edge of something she didn't fully understand-something she wasn't sure she was ready to face.
His presence was overwhelming, and for a moment, it was all she could focus on. The way he looked at her, the way his lips lingered just a breath away from hers. Everything in her screamed to back away, but every instinct in her body told her to stay. Why?
James tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing as if he was studying her, dissecting every little shift in her expression. It was as though he could see right through her, could read the conflict in her mind. And that? That unsettled her more than anything.
"You're still standing here," he said, his voice a mixture of amusement and something darker. "Still pretending like this doesn't affect you."
Tina's chest tightened, her breath catching as she fought to maintain her composure. "I'm not pretending."
He laughed softly, a sound that sent a shiver down her spine. "Oh, but you are." He reached out, his fingers grazing the back of her neck as he slowly, deliberately, moved a strand of hair from her face. The touch was light, yet it felt like a spark.
God, why did it feel like this?
"You act like you can control this," James murmured, his voice low and almost too smooth, like velvet slipping through her fingers. "But I can see it. I know you feel the pull. You've always felt it."
She shook her head, her hands gripping the railing of the balcony as if it was the only thing holding her together. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, you do," he said, his lips curling into a small, dangerous smile. "You feel it every time I touch you, don't you?"
Her breath caught. He was right. She did feel it.
His fingers brushed the edge of her chin, tipping her head slightly upward so their eyes locked again. It was no longer a game of keeping distance-no, it was a challenge now. And she could feel it, burning through the air like a wildfire.
"You're not like the others," he said, his voice almost a whisper now. "You can't just hide from me. You can't pretend you're immune to what's between us."
Tina could feel her resolve crumbling, her mind warring with itself. She wanted to push him away, wanted to demand answers. But she also wanted to give in, to see just how far this dangerous game could go.
She opened her mouth, ready to push him back, but before she could speak, James pressed his forehead gently against hers. His breath was warm against her skin, and she could feel the wild thrum of his heartbeat against hers. She closed her eyes, feeling the world tilt, her thoughts spinning out of control.
"I could ruin you, Tina," he said softly, his voice a low growl that sent heat rushing to her face. "I could tear down everything you thought you knew."
Her heart skipped a beat. The thought-his words-sent a thrill of fear and excitement coursing through her veins. She wasn't sure which one was stronger, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that she couldn't look away. Couldn't fight it.
"Then do it," she whispered, the words slipping out before she could stop herself. "Ruin me."
James's breath hitched, and for a moment, Tina swore she saw a flicker of something in his eyes-something softer, but only for the briefest second. He pulled back slightly, his hand brushing her cheek, his touch lingering just a little too long.
"Careful what you wish for," he murmured, his voice dangerously soft, but his gaze sharper than ever.
And for the first time in a long time, Tina realized that maybe she wasn't in control of this situation at all.