Between the desks

Chapter 98

Amren's POV

The car hummed beneath us as we drove in silence, but inside, my thoughts were anything but quiet. I'd been thinking about this moment for days, maybe weeks. No, I'd been thinking about it for months, and today it felt like everything was about to boil over. Lizzie sat beside me, her presence overwhelming, almost suffocating, but in a way I craved. I couldn't ignore the heat between us, the magnetic pull that had me clinging to the edge of my sanity.

She had just admitted it—she had been thinking about me, too. The words hung in the air, electrifying everything around us. The way she said it made my pulse race, the quiet acknowledgment that I wasn't the only one.

"Professor?" My voice came out smaller than I intended. My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I tried to steady myself.

Lizzie cleared her throat, her gaze fixed out the window. "Yes?" she replied, her voice low, a slow rumble that made my stomach flip.

I swallowed, nerves thrumming in my chest. "Are you nervous about this?"

There was a pause, a beat where I wasn't sure what she would say. I could feel her eyes shift, turning toward me, her presence filling the space between us.

"Nervous doesn't even begin to cover it," she finally said, a soft chuckle escaping her lips, though it didn't feel like laughter. It was something else, something heavier. "I've thought about this for so long, Amren." Her voice was softer now, more vulnerable. "I've imagined it—us—a thousand different ways in my head. And now that it's actually happening..."

She trailed off, letting out a shaky breath. When I dared to glance at her, our eyes met, and what I saw made my chest tighten. The vulnerability in her gaze, the raw need... it was like looking into a mirror. "It scares me," she whispered, "how much I want this. How much I want you."

My grip on the steering wheel tightened, the leather creaking under my fingers. That admission... it sent a rush of adrenaline through me, but it also terrified me. The knot in my chest that I'd been carrying for so long tightened further, constricting my breath, my thoughts.

I didn't know what to say. The truth was on the tip of my tongue, but it felt like speaking it would make everything too real. Too dangerous. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating, until I finally forced myself to break it.

"Lizzie..." I said her name, rougher than I meant to, like a confession I wasn't ready to make. I flicked my eyes toward her, just for a moment, and saw the longing in her gaze. It hit me like a wave, crashing over the walls I'd built to keep this very thing at bay.

"You think I'm not scared?" I asked, letting out a small, bitter laugh that held no humor. "I've been walking around with this knot in my chest for months, pretending nothing's changed. But it has. Everything between us has changed." My voice shook with the weight of it all.

Lizzie didn't say anything, but her eyes stayed locked on mine, and I could feel the tension building between us like a physical thing. I exhaled shakily and continued, even though it felt like my heart was being ripped open.

"Lizzie, you... you scare me," I admitted, my voice dropping to a low murmur. "Because you make me feel things I haven't felt in so long, things I didn't think I could feel anymore. And I don't know how to handle it. I don't know how to control it."

Her gaze softened slightly, and she leaned in, just a fraction. I could feel the warmth of her body next to mine, and it was both soothing and terrifying. I was losing control, and she knew it.

"I've wanted you for so long," I whispered, the words feeling like a weight lifted from my chest but also like I was free-falling, unsure where I'd land. "And now that we're here, now that this is real... I don't know what comes next. I don't know if I can control how much I feel for you."

My voice was barely audible now, a confession to the dark of the car. "But I'm tired of running from it."

The silence that followed was charged, heavy with everything we weren't saying. The air between us crackled, thick with unspoken tension. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for her to say something, anything.

Lizzie's eyes never left mine, and there was something in them now, something that sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn't just longing—it was understanding. She knew exactly how I felt because she felt it too.

Without a word, she laid her hand on my leg. The contact was so soft at first that I barely registered it, but then she squeezed, just enough for me to feel the pressure, the intention. My leg jerked slightly in response, and I had to fight to keep my breathing steady.

Her hand stayed there, warm and firm, and it felt like she was branding me with her touch. I couldn't move, couldn't think. The only thing that existed was the heat of her hand on my thigh and the way my body reacted to her.

"Does this make you uncomfortable?" she asked, her voice low, almost a whisper. She knew exactly what she was doing, the control she had over me.

I swallowed, my throat dry. "No," I managed to rasp out. "It makes me... aroused." The word barely made it past my lips, but I knew she heard it because she let out a soft, teasing laugh.

Her fingers tightened on my leg, her hand sliding just a little higher. My breath hitched, my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I was losing control, and she knew it.

"You were saying?" she whispered, her voice dripping with seduction as her hand moved even higher, brushing against the edge of my panties.

I couldn't respond. My thoughts were scrambled, every nerve in my body focused on the sensation of her hand so close to where I wanted her most. My legs tensed involuntarily, pressing together in a futile attempt to control the growing need inside me.

Lizzie's fingers hovered just at the edge of my panties, a deliberate tease that sent a surge of heat through my body. I couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything but her hand, my breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps as she inched even closer. Then, her fingers brushed against me—just for a second—but it was enough to make my whole body shudder.

A soft gasp escaped my lips, my legs trembling as I squeezed them tighter, trying to contain the flood of sensations coursing through me. Lizzie's touch was light, almost fleeting, but the impact was devastating. My mind went blank, consumed by the electric shock of that brief contact.

She withdrew her hand, the absence of her touch just as intense, leaving me aching for more. A smirk curled at the corner of her lips as she leaned in close, her breath warm against my ear.

"See how easily I can unravel you?" she whispered, her voice dripping with satisfaction, knowing exactly how close she had brought me to the edge. "Just one touch, and you're already falling apart."

I swallowed hard, my throat dry, struggling to find words, to say anything at all. But nothing came out. I was completely at her mercy, and she knew it.

I let out a shaky breath, my eyes snapping to hers. Lizzie was smirking, her eyes gleaming with amusement and something darker. "I'll keep this in mind for later," she murmured, her voice like a promise that sent a shiver down my spine.

I felt hollow without her touch, my body already aching for her again, but I couldn't do anything. She was in control, and I was at her mercy. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as I tried to steady myself.

The rest of the drive passed in silence, but this time, it was different. It wasn't uncomfortable. The tension still hummed between us, but it was an unspoken understanding now. We both knew what was coming. It was just a matter of when.

Lizzie turned up the music slightly, but neither of us acknowledged it. The only thing I could think about was the way her hand had felt on my skin, the way my body had responded to her so helplessly.

I wasn't just aroused. I was hers. And that scared me more than anything.