Shadows of Desire I 18+

Under her skin

Lila's POV:

The door clicked shut behind Zane, and suddenly, Lila felt the walls of her apartment closing in. She stood frozen, her back against the kitchen counter, her pulse still racing from his unexpected appearance. The air between them crackled with the kind of tension she had never felt before, the kind that made her uneasy, excited, and terrified all at once.

Zane stood there, his sharp eyes watching her like a predator waiting for her next move. The same eyes that had lingered on her during the interview, dissecting her with every glance, now bore into her with an unsettling intensity.

She cleared her throat, trying to regain control of the situation. "Zane, you need to leave. You can't just show up here like this."

He didn't move. "I'm not here to play games, Lila. I'm here because I think you're making a mistake."

His voice was low, steady, and confident. That same calm arrogance that had both intrigued and irritated her from the beginning. He had a way of making her feel like she was two steps behind him, like he always knew something she didn't. And right now, that feeling was suffocating.

Lila took a step forward, keeping her voice as firm as she could. "This has nothing to do with you. I made my decision, and I'm not changing it."

Zane's lips curved into a slight smirk, as if he found her defiance amusing. "You're lying to yourself. You're scared of what this job means, but you're even more scared of what's happening between us."

Her chest tightened at his words, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. He was cutting too close to the truth, peeling back layers she wasn't ready to confront. She wasn't ready to admit how much his presence affected her. How much his gaze, his voice, and the sheer force of his personality had gotten under her skin.

Lila bit her lip, pushing down the flood of emotions rising in her chest. "There's nothing happening between us," she said quietly, her voice lacking the conviction she had hoped for. "This is professional. It's about the job."

Zane tilted his head, taking another step closer. "Professional? Is that what it felt like back in my office?"

Her heart pounded in her ears as memories of their charged interaction flooded back. The way his gaze had burned into her, the way his hand had lingered on her wrist when he stopped her from leaving. The way she had felt something—something real and terrifying—ignite between them.

Lila forced herself to take a deep breath. "That was a mistake," she said, trying to sound firm, though the words felt hollow.

Zane's eyes darkened, and his smirk faded. "You can keep telling yourself that, but we both know it wasn't."

Lila's hands clenched into fists at her sides, frustration and confusion swirling inside her. She wanted to tell him off, to push him away, but there was a part of her—an undeniable part—that didn't want him to leave. That wanted to understand what was happening between them. But she couldn't ignore the reality of her life. She had Ryan. She had her career. She couldn't throw it all away because of whatever this was with Zane.

"I don't know what you think is going on here," she said, her voice shaky but determined. "But I'm not going to let you control my decisions. This isn't about you, Zane. It's about me and what I need."

Zane's expression softened for a moment, but the intensity in his eyes never wavered. "You're right," he said. "This is about you. And that's exactly why I came here. You're too smart to walk away from this opportunity. Don't let whatever happened between us make you doubt that."

Lila's breath caught in her throat. The fact that he acknowledged the tension between them—without sugarcoating it—threw her off balance. He wasn't trying to charm her, wasn't trying to manipulate her into taking the job. He was being brutally honest. And that made him even more dangerous.

"I can separate the job from... whatever this is," he continued, his voice quiet but firm. "But can you? That's the real question."

Lila looked away, her mind spinning. She didn't know how to answer that. She wasn't sure she could separate the two. Not after everything that had happened, and especially not after tonight.

"I have a boyfriend," she blurted out, the words coming out sharper than she intended. "And this... this thing between us, whatever it is, it can't happen."

Zane's eyes flickered, a brief flash of something she couldn't quite read. "Is that why you're really turning down the job? Because of him?"

Lila swallowed hard, the truth settling uncomfortably in her chest. She had been thinking about Ryan a lot lately, about how distant they had become. But Ryan was safe. Ryan was predictable. And this thing with Zane—this storm brewing between them—was anything but.

"I'm turning down the job because I don't think it's right for me," she said, though even she wasn't convinced by her own words.

Zane took another step closer, his presence almost overwhelming. He was standing just inches away now, his eyes searching hers. "I don't believe you."

Her breath hitched. She could feel the heat radiating off him, the pull between them stronger than ever. It was like standing on the edge of a cliff, knowing that one step forward would send her plummeting into something unknown. Something dangerous. But she couldn't move. She couldn't step back.

Zane leaned in, his voice low and intense. "Take the job, Lila. Let me show you what you're capable of. Don't let fear stop you."

Her pulse raced, her mind spinning with conflicting thoughts and emotions. She wanted to push him away, but she also wanted to understand why she was so drawn to him. Why he made her feel so alive, so out of control.

But before she could respond, before she could even think, her phone buzzed in her pocket. The sudden noise cut through the tension like a knife, snapping her back to reality.

Maya quickly pulled out her phone, her heart still racing. It was a message from Ryan.

**We need to talk.**

She stared at the screen, the weight of those four words crashing down on her. It was as if the universe was reminding her of the life she was trying to keep in order. The life that didn't include Zane Hunter.

"I have to go," she said abruptly, stepping away from him and toward the door. "This... this isn't right."

Zane didn't try to stop her this time. But the way he looked at her, the fire still burning in his eyes, told her that this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

Lila opened her door and stepped out into the hallway, the cool air hitting her like a wake-up call. She didn't look back as she walked away, her mind racing with everything that had just happened.

But even as she walked away from Zane, she couldn't shake the feeling that no matter how hard she tried, he was already under her skin.

And there was no escaping it.

Leaving him alone in her own apartment.

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1220 words