THE KISS HAD CHANGED EVERYTHING.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of laughter, stolen glances, and that dizzying tension that never seemed to leave the space between them.
Mailah wasn't sure when the joking had turned into something softer, or when her hand had brushed his on the way upstairs, but by the time the mansion quieted for the night, she found herself standing in the threshold of his room.
He leaned against the doorframe, eyes glowing faintly, his smirk curved into something she couldn't quite read. "You know," he drawled, "if you sleep in here, people might assume you're already corrupting your employer. That would be… deeply unethical."
Mailah had laughed, half because it was absurd, half because she heard the edge of sincerity buried beneath the jest. He was warning her without saying it outright—that intimacy with him was not simple, not safe.
