Velvet Shadows
The room was too quiet for someone like him to be in it.
It wasn't a ballroom anymore. Not really. Not after the guests had cleared out and the air had gone still, like it was holding its breath.
Nephis stepped past the heavy gold-lined doors of the Aldric estate's private study. Every inch of the room whispered wealth—antique shelves filled with untouched books, a fireplace burning low like it had secrets to keep, and glass walls revealing the dark edges of the city skyline.
And there he was.
Draven Aldric.
The mistake she hadn't meant to make—and the one she couldn't undo.
He stood with his back to her, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow, tie hanging loose like he'd already stripped away the night. He hadn't heard her come in. Or maybe he had. Maybe he was waiting.
She didn't speak.
She didn't need to.
His shoulders tensed just enough for her to notice. Just enough to say he felt her before he saw her.
Then slowly—deliberately—he turned.
God, he looked lethal in dim light. All sharp cheekbones and calm restraint, like a man who didn't need to raise his voice to make you beg.
His eyes landed on her. They didn't scan. Didn't roam.
They held.
They burned.
"I thought you left with the rest of them," he said.
Her lips tilted, just a little. "I don't do what I'm expected to."
"I've noticed."
He took a slow step toward her. Just one. No rush. Like he already knew she wouldn't move.
He was right.
"I wasn't looking for you," he said, but his voice dropped on the last word—you—like it tasted better than he wanted to admit.
Nephis arched a brow. "Then why do you look like you're trying not to touch me?"
That stopped him.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Long enough.
He looked at her dress.
That goddamn dress.
It was cheap. Too tight. Too low. The kind girls like her weren't supposed to wear to places like this. But she'd worn it anyway. On purpose. Because she didn't belong in this world, and tonight, she wanted to look like a sin.
And judging by the way his jaw clenched?
It worked.
"You shouldn't be here," he said.
Nephis took a step closer. The heat between them snapped like static. The air went heavier. Richer. More dangerous.
"But I am."
Her voice was steady. Even though her pulse was anything but.
His eyes dropped to her mouth. Just for a second. Just long enough for her knees to remember what giving in would feel like.
She didn't give in.
Yet.
"Nephis." He said her name like a warning.
She smiled.
He took another step. And this time, she didn't wait.
She walked around him—slow, like a secret being unwrapped—trailing her fingers along the edge of the table beside them. Letting him look. Letting him not touch.
"I didn't come here for anything," she said, pretending to inspect a crystal decanter. "Just wanted to see how it felt... to be in your space. Uninvited."
He moved behind her. Close. Close enough that she could feel the heat of him at her back, but not close enough to touch.
Still no contact. Just tension. Layered. Heavy. Erotic.
"You think this is a game?"
"I think it scares you that I'm not playing."
She turned to face him—slowly.
His hand brushed her waist. Barely. Just a breath of contact. Enough to feel the tremble she didn't mean to give him.
Then nothing.
He didn't grab her. Didn't pull her in.
He stepped back.
Controlled. Calm.
Ruthless.
"I won't touch you tonight," he said, voice low and rough. "Not because I don't want to."
She swallowed hard.
"But because you'll remember it more if I don't."
Her throat tightened.
"And when I finally do," he continued, leaning in, his mouth brushing the shell of her ear, "it won't be in a borrowed dress with someone else's perfume. You'll come to me clean. Honest. Begging."
Her knees almost buckled.
Then he walked away. Past her. Past the tension. Past the temptation.
No kiss.
No touch.
Just that voice, low and final, as he left her alone in the room with the ghost of his hands:
"Goodnight, Nephis.
Hello guys this my first book and I bet you wanna give this book a try. You're free to point out my mistakes. I bet you that this book worth every minute of your time. So join me in this mysterious journey of love as we explore the depths of lies, love and betrayal.