Sunlight crept through my curtains, dragging me awake. I threw on my biggest sweater and bunny slippers—anything to avoid a full effort—and headed out for the mail. The red door opposite my apartment felt like the epicenter of all my bad decisions.
Pressing the lift button, I hoped for a quick trip downstairs. Then—"Hold the door!" Of course. Liam. Smug as ever, sliding in with that infuriating grin. "Doll face," he said, like I was some annoying toy.
I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. Why was he even allowed to live?
He glanced down at my slippers. "Cute. Bunny rabbits? Really?"
I clenched my jaw. Cute was not the word I'd use.
The elevator jolted and stalled. Great, just what I needed, to be trapped with him. "What did you do?" I snapped.
"Nothing," he said smoothly. "Though it's tempting to blame you."
I jabbed at the buttons. "Fix it!"
He slouched against the wall, arms crossed like a cocky teenager. "Relax, princess. This box's been broken for ages."
I wanted to smack him. His eyes caught mine, and suddenly that stupid smirk turned into a damn wink. Both eyes crinkling, like I was supposed to swoon or something. Ugh.
The silence settled, thick and heavy. I stole glances at him, trying to figure out how someone so annoyingly hot could also be such a jerk. "Service?" I asked, voice low.
"None." He shrugged. "You?"
"No phone." He laughed—a rough sound that twisted something inside me I wasn't ready to admit.
"What's your deal, Liam? Why do you have to be such a—"
"A dick?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're a bitch."
"I'm not!"
"You were rude first. I don't need friends."
"I tried! Friendly neighbor vibes, remember?"
"Not interested." He smirked. "But you'd make the cut if I needed replacements."
"In your dreams."
He stepped closer, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "In my dreams, you're not just a friend."
My heart flipped. Nope, nope, nope. Don't fall for it. He's a jerk.
"You're disgusting," I spat.
"Don't pretend you don't like me. I saw you checking me out."
"I wasn't!"
"Could do worse."
I hated how my stomach twisted. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
I narrowed my eyes. "I don't get you."
He smiled like he held the whole damn puzzle. "I get you. Pretty girl running scared, hiding behind perfect."
"Stop."
"What was his name?"
"Who?"
"Your ex. The one who broke you."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, you do." His voice softened, eyes serious for a second. I looked away.
"Expert, huh?"
"I am." He stood, stepping closer. My breath hitched before I could stop it.
His cologne hit me—sharp, intoxicating. The kind of scent that sticks under your skin and makes you question every rule you thought you had. His eyes flickered gold in the dim elevator light, and suddenly, all my carefully built walls started to wobble.
Why was my body betraying me? Every nerve screamed to back away, but my heart hammered with a strange, reckless curiosity. Who was this guy, really? Beneath the asshole exterior and those infuriating smirks—what was he hiding?
He pinned me against the cold metal wall, so close I could feel the heat radiating from him. Our faces hovered just two inches apart, every breath mingling in the tight space between us.
"I know you like me, doll face."
His voice was low, almost a tease, but there was something raw underneath—something that pulled me in.
"I like you too."
My knees nearly buckled. What the hell was happening? Part of me wanted to scream, "Run!" while another desperate part wanted to lean in, to explore whatever magnetism was charging the air.
I wanted to scream at him, call him every name in the book for messing with my head—but the truth was, I wanted to kiss him. Badly, like it might answer all the questions swirling inside me, or at least shut them up for a minute.
His arms curled around me, steady and sure, as his lips hovered mere millimeters from mine. Time slowed. My skin tingled, every sense on fire.
And then—the elevator pinged open.
I slipped away as fast as I could, cheeks burning, heart pounding like a drumbeat I couldn't control.
But even as I fled, I knew one thing with painful clarity—I needed to understand Liam. Not just the jerk everyone saw, but the man who made my heart race and my head spin all at once.
Who was he? And why did he affect me like no one else ever had?
YOU ARE READING
Capture
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] You can't run forever, eventually you'll be captured. A dark past he's spent years running from threatens to swallow him whole after a simple knock on her door.
