The silence in the kitchen turned deadly.

Ethan’s eyes moved between us again slowly, suspiciously, while Adrian stood beside the island looking far too calm for a man who had almost kissed his best friend’s little sister thirty seconds ago.

Meanwhile I could still feel Adrian’s hand on my waist.

Still feel the warmth of his body against mine.

Still feel how wet I was from absolutely nothing except tension and frustration and the way he looked at me like he wanted to ruin me quietly.

God.

I needed to get out of this kitchen.

“What?” I asked finally, trying to sound normal.

Ethan frowned harder. “Why do both of you look weird?”

Adrian answered before I could.

“She almost dropped a glass.”

His voice was smooth again now.

Controlled.

Like he hadn’t just been breathing against my mouth.

Liar.

Ethan looked at me. “Seriously?”

I forced out a laugh. “Yeah.”

Another lie.

But Ethan seemed distracted already, muttering something under his breath while patting his pockets.

“Where the hell is my charger?”

Adrian reached into the pocket of his jacket hanging over one of the stools and pulled it out casually.

“This?”

Ethan groaned dramatically. “Bro, I’ve been looking for that for ten minutes.”

“You could have asked earlier,” Adrian said.

I hated how normal they suddenly sounded.

Like the last few minutes hadn’t happened.

Like my entire body wasn’t still overheating.

Ethan grabbed the charger before walking toward the living room again. “Are you staying or leaving?”

Adrian’s eyes flickered toward me briefly.

Too briefly for Ethan to notice.

Long enough for my stomach to tighten anyway.

“I’m leaving,” Adrian said.

My chest did something stupid at those words.

Disappointment.

Which was ridiculous.

He should leave.

Actually, he needed to leave before Ethan noticed something was seriously wrong.

But my body clearly disagreed.

Because the second Adrian started walking toward the door, heat spread through me again.

Like my body already missed him.

Ah, pathetic.

Ethan disappeared into the hallway again while unlocking his phone, completely unaware that his best friend had almost pinned me against the kitchen counter five seconds ago.

The second he vanished, Adrian looked at me again.

And just like that;

The air changed all over again.

God.

It was unfair how quickly this man could affect me.

“You need to stop looking at me like that,” Adrian said quietly.

I folded my arms over my chest. “You keep saying that while staring at me like you want to ruin my life.”

His jaw tightened instantly.

That reaction alone sent another pulse between my thighs.

Jesus Christ.

He took one slow step toward me again.

“Careful, Sienna.”

That low warning voice nearly destroyed me.

“Or what?” I asked softly.

Another mistake.

His eyes darkened immediately.

“You really wanna find out?”

The words hit low in my stomach.

Filthy.

Dangerous.

Exactly the kind of thing that made me incapable of thinking around him.

I tried to act unaffected.

Failed.

Completely.

Adrian noticed too.

Of course he did.

His gaze dragged slowly over my face before dropping lower again.

My nipples tightened painfully beneath the thin shirt instantly.

God.

I hated how obvious my body was around him.

“You should go to bed,” Adrian said.

“But you don’t want me to.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

A heavy silence followed.

Then Adrian laughed softly.

More like frustrated.

“You’re playing a dangerous game tonight.”

“Maybe I’m actually tired of pretending.”

That hit him.

Hard.

I saw it immediately in the way his expression changed.

Less controlled.

More hungry.

For one terrifying second I genuinely thought he was going to kiss me anyway.

Instead he stepped closer until my back touched the counter again.

My pulse exploded instantly.

“Your brother trusts me,” Adrian said quietly.

The words surprised me.

I blinked. “What?”

“He trusts me around you.”

His voice sounded rough again now.

Like he hated talking about this.

“Then maybe you should stop cornering me in kitchens,” I whispered.

That almost made him smile.

Almost.

But it disappeared quickly.

“Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been trying not to touch you?”

Heat rushed through me so fast it made me dizzy.

No.

No no no.

He could not say things like that while standing this close to me.

Especially not while my body still ached from the almost-kiss earlier.

“You act like I’m making this difficult alone,” I murmured.

Adrian stared at me for a long second.

Then his hand suddenly grabbed the edge of the counter beside me again.

Hard.

“You are.”

The deep roughness in his voice nearly made my knees weaken.

God.

Every conversation with him felt like foreplay.

I swallowed hard. “Then stop wanting me.”

Silence.

Then Adrian leaned closer slowly until I felt his breath near my ear.

“That’s the problem, sweetheart.”

My breath caught instantly.

He had never called me that before.

Never.

“And what problem is that?” I whispered.

His eyes dragged slowly down my body again.

“Can’t.”

Fuck.

Actually fuck.

The word settled directly between my thighs.

I shifted slightly without meaning to.

Big mistake.

Adrian noticed immediately.

His eyes sharpened dangerously.

“You have no idea what you do to me.”

I stared up at him breathlessly.

“And you have no idea what you do to me either.”

That seemed to snap the last thread of his control.

Because suddenly Adrian’s hand landed lightly on my hip.

Not enough.

Nowhere near enough.

But my body reacted instantly anyway.

A soft breath escaped me before I could stop it.

His jaw flexed hard at the sound.

“Sienna.”

The warning in his voice only made me want him more.

I hated this.

No.

Another lie.

I loved this.

Loved how tense he became around me.

Loved how his breathing changed whenever I got too close.

Loved knowing Adrian Cross; calm, controlled Adrian, was losing his mind over me too.

My fingers curled lightly against the front of his shirt before I could think better of it.

His entire body went still.

Oh my God.

I should stop.

Immediately.

Instead my fingers tightened slightly.

Adrian looked down at my hand slowly.

Then back at me.

Dangerous mistake.

Because the look in his eyes almost melted my brain.

“You keep touching me like that,” he said quietly, “and I’m eventually gonna forget how to behave around you.”

Heat flooded my stomach instantly.

Maybe I wanted that.

Actually no.

Definitely.

The realization terrified me a little.

Then footsteps suddenly echoed down the hallway again.

Adrian stepped back instantly.

The loss of him hit me embarrassingly hard.

Ethan walked back into the kitchen holding his phone. “You still here?”

Adrian grabbed his jacket calmly. “Was literally leaving.”

“Mhm,” Ethan muttered distractedly. “Let’s have a drink.”

I looked away quickly before

Ethan noticed my face was still burning.

Adrian slid his jacket on before looking at me one final time.

And God.

That look.

That look should honestly be illegal.

Slow.

Dark.

Hungry.

Like he was already thinking about the next time we’d be alone.

Then he opened the penthouse door.

“Night, Sienna.”

The deep roughness in his voice wrapped around me instantly.

“Goodnight,” I answered softly.

He held my gaze for one dangerous second longer before finally leaving.

The door shut quietly behind him.

And somehow the entire penthouse immediately felt colder.

Ethan stretched lazily beside me. “You okay?”

No.

Absolutely not.

I could still feel Adrian everywhere.

On my waist. In my head.

Between my thighs.

“Yeah,” I lied.

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. “You look flushed.”

Panic flashed through me instantly.

“I’m tired.”

Thankfully Ethan just shrugged.

“Go sleep then.”

If only it were that easy.

Because later that night, alone in bed beneath tangled sheets, all I could think about was Adrian’s voice against my ear.

Can’t.

And somehow that single word kept me awake for hours.

Adrian's POV

I almost kissed my best friend’s little sister tonight.

The thought repeated in my head the entire drive home.

Over and over again.

Like punishment.

My hands tightened around the steering wheel as rain slammed against the windshield harder, city lights blurring past while all I could still fucking see was Sienna standing against that kitchen counter looking up at me with flushed cheeks and parted lips.

Jesus Christ.

I should’ve left earlier.

The second Ethan walked away, I should’ve grabbed my jacket and gone home.

Instead I stayed.

Stared too long.

Touched her.

And worst of all?

I knew exactly what I was doing.

A rough breath left me as I stopped at a red light.

I could still feel her waist beneath my hand.

Still hear the small breath she made when I touched her.

Not fear.

Fuck no.

That was the problem.

She wanted it too.

That realization had completely destroyed whatever control I still had left.

I leaned my head back briefly against the seat.

This had to stop.

Now.

Before I fucked everything up.

Before Ethan realized the way I looked at his sister wasn’t normal anymore.

Because Ethan trusted me.

That was the part making this feel worse.

We’d been friends for years.

Built businesses together.

Bled together.

Gotten arrested together once in college after a fight outside some club none of us even remembered the name of anymore.

Ethan trusted me with everything.

Including her.

And I was standing in his kitchen imagining what Sienna would sound like if I finally kissed her properly.

I laughed once under my breath.

Yeah.

I was fucked.

My phone suddenly rang through the car speakers.

ETHAN.

Of course.

I answered immediately. “What?”

“You sound irritated already,” Ethan said.

“That’s because you’re calling me at one in the morning.”

“Cry about it.”

I shook my head slightly while turning onto the next street.

“What do you want?”

“You busy tomorrow?”

My jaw tightened automatically.

“Why?”

“I need someone to pick Sienna up tomorrow evening.”

Fuck.

“No.”

Ethan laughed. “You didn’t even hear the full sentence.”

“I heard enough.”

“You’re literally free.”

“How do you know?”

“Because all you do after work is go home and ignore women.”

I stayed quiet.

Mostly because if Ethan knew the actual woman currently ruining my life, he’d probably try to kill me.

“You there?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“So?”

I exhaled slowly. “Why can’t she drive herself?”

“She’s dropping her car off tomorrow.”

Of course she was.

I rubbed my jaw roughly.

This was a bad idea.

A really bad fucking idea.

“Ask someone else.”

“Bro, stop acting dramatic and just pick her up.”

“No.”

A pause.

Then Ethan laughed slowly.

“Wait.”

Fuck.

“What?”

“You’re not uncomfortable around Sienna now because she caught you bringing that blonde home last month, right?”

I frowned immediately. “What?”

“She’s been acting weird around you too.”

My grip tightened around the steering wheel.

“She has?”

“Mhm.”

Jesus Christ.

Ethan continued talking casually, completely unaware he was actively making my life worse.

“She probably thinks you’re corrupting the apartment atmosphere or some shit.”

If only he knew.

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. Probably.”

Another pause.

Then Ethan sighed dramatically. “So are you picking her up or not?”

Every logical part of my brain screamed no.

Absolutely fucking not.

But then Sienna’s face flashed through my head again.

Those lips.

That tiny breath when I touched her waist.

The way she looked at me like she wanted me to lose control.

I closed my eyes briefly.

“Send me the address.”

Ethan laughed immediately. “Knew you’d stop acting like a son a bitch eventually.”

“Go to sleep.”

“Night.”

The call ended.

I dropped my head back against the seat again for a second.

This was a mistake.

A massive one.

And somehow I was still going to do it anyway.

…..

The next evening was somehow worse.

Because now I knew exactly how she reacted beneath my touch.

I knew what her breathing sounded like when she got nervous around me.

I knew she looked at my mouth too.

That knowledge ruined me the entire fucking day.

Work became impossible.

Every meeting irritated me.

Every woman who flirted with me annoyed me.

Every text notification pissed me off because none of them were from her.

By the time evening came around, my patience was already hanging by a thread.

I parked outside the café Ethan texted me and checked the time again.

Seven minutes late.

Good.

Maybe she changed her mind.

Maybe she got another ride.

Maybe God finally decided to help me out for once.

Then the café doors opened.

And every coherent thought immediately disappeared from my brain.

Fuck.

Sienna stepped outside wearing tight black jeans and one of those soft oversized sweaters that somehow looked more dangerous on her than tiny dresses did.

Her hair fell around her shoulders loosely while she looked down at her phone, completely unaware that my entire body had just gone tense at the sight of her.

Jesus Christ.

How was one woman this distracting?

Then she looked up.

Saw my car.

And smiled slightly.

That tiny smile hit me harder than it should have.

I unlocked the passenger door immediately before I could think too much about it.

She got inside quietly.

And instantly the car smelled like her.

Vanilla.

Perfume.

Something soft underneath it.

“Hi,” she said softly.

I kept my eyes on the road. “Hey.”

Then a heavy silence.

I could feel her looking at me.

That somehow made everything worse.

“How was work?” she asked eventually.

“Fine.”

“You look kind off tired.”

I glanced at her briefly.

Big mistake.

Because now I noticed her lips again.

Fuck.

“Don’t start,” I muttered.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “Start what?”

“You know exactly what.”

A small smile pulled at her mouth.

And just like that, irritation mixed dangerously with attraction inside my chest.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she said.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

“For good reason.”

“Because of last night?”

My jaw flexed instantly.

“Sienna.”

“What?” she asked innocently.

That fake innocence almost made me lose my mind.

“You really wanna talk about last night while sitting alone in my car?”

She shifted slightly in her seat.

I noticed that too.

I noticed everything about her.

That was the fucking problem.

“I just think it’s funny,” she murmured.

“What is?”

“You keep acting like you were the only one affected.”

Those words settled low in my stomach immediately.

I looked at her sharply.

Her cheeks were slightly pink now, but she held my gaze anyway.

Brave.

Reckless.

Dangerous.

Exactly the kind of girl a man like me should stay away from.

Instead I wanted to pull over and kiss her until neither of us remembered why this was a bad idea anymore.

A notification suddenly lit up her phone screen.

Some guy’s name appeared across it.

RYAN.

You looked good today btw.

Something ugly moved through my chest instantly.

Sienna scrolled through the phone casually.

“Who’s Ryan?”

The question came out rougher than I intended.

She glanced at me briefly. “Why?”

“Answer the question.”

That soft little smile appeared again.

Like she enjoyed this.

“Are you jealous?”

I laughed once.

Cold.

Dangerous.

“You really don’t wanna play that game with me.”

Sienna's POV

“You really don’t wanna play that game with me.”

The low warning in Adrian’s voice sent heat straight through my stomach.

God. The worst part was that i liked it.

Actually, no.

I loved it.

Because Adrian almost never lost composure.

He was always calm. Controlled.

Unreadable.

But right now?

That jealousy in his voice sounded dangerous.

And somehow that only made me want to push him further.

Probably a terrible idea.

Definitely a terrible idea.

Still;

I looked down at my phone slowly. “You’re jealous?”

Adrian’s jaw flexed immediately.

Oh my God.

He really was jealous.

A tiny thrill moved through me before I could stop it.

I tried not to smile.

Failed horribly.

“You look amused,” Adrian muttered.

“A little.”

His grip tightened around the steering wheel.

Rain streaked across the windshield while the inside of the car somehow kept getting hotter.

Or maybe that was just him.

“What’s funny?” he asked.

I leaned back slightly against the seat. “Nothing.”

“Sienna.”

That deep warning voice again.

Jesus Christ.

My thighs pressed together instinctively.

I could actually feel how wet I was becoming from this conversation alone and honestly that was becoming slightly humiliating.

No man should have this much effect on me.

Especially not Adrian.

Especially not my brother’s best friend.

“Why do you care?” I asked softly.

Then a heavy silence.

Adrian kept his eyes on the road.

He was too focused and controlled.

That alone told me everything.

Because men who didn’t care didn’t grip steering wheels that hard.

“Answer me,” I pushed.

His laugh was quiet.

“You really enjoy testing me.”

“Maybe I enjoy seeing you jealous.”

That did it.

The car suddenly slowed before Adrian turned sharply into an empty parking lot beside a closed building.

My heartbeat instantly spiked.

Oh my God.

The rain outside sounded louder now.

He parked roughly before finally looking at me fully.

And Jesus Christ.

That look nearly ruined me.

Dark. Frustrated. Hungry.

Like he was one wrong word away from snapping completely.

“You should stop talking,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard.

“You’re the one who pulled into a parking lot.”

His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth before lifting back to my eyes again.

“You have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?”

The roughness in his voice sent heat flooding lower in my stomach immediately.

I tried to act unaffected.

Though I failed completely.

“Probably the same thing you’re doing to me.”

That silence again. But this one felt worse.

The tension inside the car became almost unbearable.

Adrian leaned back slightly in his seat, staring at me like he was trying to decide whether touching me was worth destroying his self-control.

I hoped it was.

God help me, I really hoped it was.

“You should not be talking to guys like Ryan,” Adrian said finally.

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

“He wants to fuck you.”

The bluntness of it made my stomach flip.

Heat spread across my face instantly.

“You don’t even know him.”

“I know men.”

His voice stayed calm.

“And I know exactly how they look at you.”

Something about the possessiveness in his tone made my pulse flutter dangerously.

I crossed my legs slowly, trying to relieve some of the pressure between my thighs.

Adrian noticed instantly.

His eyes dropped briefly before darkening even more.

The air inside the car suddenly felt too thick to breathe properly.

“Why are you acting like this?” I whispered.

His jaw tightened.

“You really wanna know?”

Yes.

God yes.

But suddenly I wasn’t feeling brave anymore.

Because Adrian looked dangerously close to losing control now.

And somehow that excited me more than it scared me.

“That depends,” I murmured softly.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“On what?”

“On whether you’re finally gonna admit this isn’t one-sided.”

That hit him hard.

I saw it immediately.

Something darker shifted in his expression.

The next few seconds happened slowly.

Painfully slowly.

Adrian reached toward me suddenly.

His fingers wrapped lightly around my jaw before tilting my face toward him.

My breath caught instantly.

Oh my God.

His hand felt warm against my skin.

Too warm.

Every nerve ending in my body came alive at once.

“You think I don’t know this is a problem?” he said quietly.

The deep roughness in his voice made my stomach tighten again.

“You think I haven’t spent years trying to ignore this?”

Years.

The word alone nearly destroyed me.

Years.

Adrian’s thumb brushed lightly against my jaw.

The tiny movement sent heat straight between my thighs.

Damn.

I was so turned on it almost hurt.

“Then stop ignoring it,” I whispered.

A dark look crossed his face instantly.

The kind that made my heartbeat stumble.

“Sienna.”

The warning in his voice barely registered.

Because all I could focus on now was how close he was.

How good his hand felt against my skin.

How badly I wanted him to kiss me already.

“You keep looking at me like that,” Adrian said slowly, “and eventually I’m gonna stop pretending I know how to behave around you.”

The words wrapped around me completely.

Warm. Dangerous. Filthy.

My breathing turned uneven.

“Maybe I don’t want you behaving.”

Jesus Christ.

Did I actually say that out loud?

Apparently yes.

Because Adrian went completely still.

The tension inside the car tightened instantly.

And then suddenly his hand slid from my jaw into my hair.

Enough to control and make heat explode low in my stomach.

A quiet breath escaped me before I could stop it.

His eyes darkened immediately at the sound.

“Fuck,” he muttered softly.

That single word nearly ruined me.

Because it sounded frustrated.

Like he was losing a fight with himself.

My fingers curled against the seat beneath me while his gaze stayed locked on my mouth.

Hungry.

God.

He looked hungry.

“You need to stop doing that,” he said quietly.

“What?”

“Looking at me like you want me to ruin your life.”

Heat flooded my face instantly because he was right.

That was exactly how I was looking at him.

And maybe the worst part?

I really did want that.

The realization should’ve terrified me.

Instead it made me wetter.

Adrian’s breathing changed slightly as if he noticed where my thoughts went.

Of course he noticed.

He always noticed everything.

His forehead rested lightly against mine suddenly.

My heart nearly stopped.

Oh my God.

We were so close now.

If either of us moved even slightly;

Our mouths would touch.

I could feel his breath against my lips.

Warm.

Slow.

Dangerously controlled.

“Tell me to stop,” Adrian murmured quietly.

I stared at him helplessly.

Because he sounded like a man hanging by a thread.

Like one wrong word would finally break whatever restraint he had left.

But I didn’t want him to stop.

That was the problem.

I wanted him worse every second.

My fingers slowly grabbed the front of his shirt.

His eyes closed briefly.

Like even that tiny touch affected him too much.

God.

I loved seeing him like this.

Loved knowing calm controlled Adrian Cross was completely losing his mind over me.

“Adrian,” I whispered softly.

His hand tightened slightly in my hair.

It was possessive.

The heat between my thighs became almost unbearable now.

“Jesus Christ, Sienna,” he muttered roughly against my mouth.

My lips parted automatically.

His breathing changed instantly at the sight.

And for one dangerous second;

I genuinely thought he was finally going to kiss me.

Then headlights flashed briefly across the parking lot.

Reality slammed back into the car immediately.

Adrian pulled away fast, dragging one rough hand down his face.

The loss of his body heat hit me instantly.

Hard.

He looked angry now.

Not at me.

At himself.

“That was a mistake,” he said quietly.

My chest tightened painfully.

“A mistake?”

His jaw flexed hard.

“You don’t understand what happens if Ethan finds out.”

The mention of my brother shattered the tension slightly.

But not enough.

Not nearly enough.

Because my body still ached for him.

Still wanted him.

“And what happens if he doesn’t?” I asked softly.

That question made Adrian look at me again.

Really look at me.

And the expression on his face almost stole my breath.

Because suddenly he looked less controlled than I had ever seen him before.

Like the only thing holding him back now was guilt.

Nothing else.

“You keep asking dangerous questions tonight,” he murmured.

Maybe.

But judging by the way he kept staring at my mouth;

He wanted dangerous answers too.