Between the desks

Chapter 95

Amren's POV

My heart was still racing when I sat down, Lizzie's presence like a heavy weight in the room, suffocating and electric all at once. I couldn't think straight. Everything in me was on high alert—the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears, my shallow, uneven breaths. My body was filled with need, an aching tension I couldn't shake, and all I wanted was release. Lizzie, seated across from me, was talking about the assessment, her voice calm and measured, but I wasn't absorbing any of it.

She might as well have been speaking another language. My thoughts were all over the place, chaotic, swirling, each one pulling me further away from the words she spoke. All I could focus on was her—her voice, her movements, her presence. I was a storm inside, and she was at the center of it, stirring everything up.

"Amren," Lizzie's voice sliced through my spiraling thoughts, sharp and precise. "Are you even listening?"

I blinked, tearing my eyes away from where they had been fixed on her lips, finally meeting her gaze. The intensity in her emerald eyes was impossible to ignore, and my breath hitched in my throat. My heart pounded even louder.

"I take that as a no," she continued, her tone laced with sass and amusement, her smirk unmistakable. She knew exactly what she was doing to me. I could feel it in every word she spoke, in the way her gaze lingered on me just a little too long, like she enjoyed watching me unravel in front of her.

I swallowed hard, struggling to find my voice. "You make it very hard to..." I trailed off, the words getting caught in my throat. I swallowed again, trying to steady my breath. "Concentrate."

Lizzie arched an eyebrow, her lips curling slightly. "Is that so?" Her voice was low, teasing, and every syllable sent shivers down my spine. "You know this is exactly what I want, right?"

Her admission hit me like a punch to the gut. My entire body reacted—a wave of heat rushed through me, pooling low in my stomach, a sharp ache of desire. I looked at her, unable to tear my eyes away, my pulse quickening even more. She was playing with me, and she knew exactly how to pull the strings.

"You can't keep teasing me like this," I managed to whisper, my voice barely more than a breath, pleading without meaning to.

Lizzie's expression shifted, her eyes narrowing slightly, amusement dancing in the depths of her gaze. "Oh, but I can," she said softly, stepping closer. Her voice was authoritative, laced with a sort of quiet, simmering revenge. "You did it to me."

Her words hung between us, and I felt a stab of guilt, but mostly, it was desire. I couldn't think of anything else but the tension coursing through my veins, the overwhelming need for her. I drew in a shaky breath, trying to get a grip on myself, but it was useless. I was completely at her mercy.

"Can we just stop for a minute?" I asked, my voice strained. It wasn't a question. It was a plea.

Lizzie leaned back in her chair, watching me closely, like a predator sizing up her prey. "We can," she said, her tone calm, but her eyes told a different story. She rolled her chair back slightly, giving me space, but it felt like a taunt.

I stood up, the tension in the air between us becoming unbearable. My legs felt weak, but I forced myself to move, to walk around the desk until I was standing in front of her. I leaned against the edge of the desk, trying to steady myself, trying to find my balance. But she was watching me with those piercing eyes, and I felt like I was about to crumble.

Lizzie tilted her head back, still sitting in her chair, looking up at me with that infuriating smirk. "What is it you want?" she asked, her voice low, sensual, each word a caress. She knew exactly what I wanted, but she wasn't going to make it easy for me.