Chapter 17: It's You

~ Ronan’s Pov ~

I could finally breathe. I could fucking finally breathe having her this close to me. It had been two weeks of torture. Two weeks of hurt, for some reason. Two weeks of piled-up anger and frustration from her ignoring me.

It's laughable, really. We work in the same office, yet she's able to ignore me. Well, one thing's for sure—Anyssa has her ways of doing things. For some reason, she got permission from Mavis, who agreed to her working from home. When he told me about it, I was so mad at him. She is my secretary. She answers to ME.

She's been ignoring my calls and texts. On two occasions when she came to the office, she intentionally arrived when I had just left or wasn’t there. It sucks. I know I fucked up. I know it’s my fault, but I can’t bear to be away from her any longer.

These crippling feelings…frustrate me. Her constantly being in my head. My mind. My thoughts. Fuck, Anyssa…what are you doing to me?

“What are you doing in here?” she asked with contempt. I didn’t think she would attend the after-wedding party, but when Calder told me this morning that he had asked her to, my heart leapt with joy.

Hope, perhaps? I walked closer to her…slowly.

“This is the ladies’ toilet. You shouldn’t be in here.”

“If this is the only way I get to talk to you, then I don’t give a fuck.” No way in hell am I going to let her leave now that I’ve got her attention.

“I don’t want to see you. Get out, or else I’ll scream!”

“You don’t have to do that. I just want to…talk.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and took a few steps back, giving a good amount of distance between us.

With her arms crossed over her chest, she asked, “Talk about? If it’s about that night, save it. I’m over it anyway.”

Sure, she is. It was a shitty scenario, and she’s right to be mad. But I never planned anything.

“So? Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

“Nyssa—”

“I’m guessing we’re done here,” she said, picking up her bag and approaching the door. Before she was able to open it, I slammed my hand on the door, blocking her from leaving.

Her eyes shifted from the door to my face.

“I need you to listen to me carefully,” I said. “I never planned anything with anyone. I never took you to my place to humiliate you. I never had terrible intentions.”

For a minute, it seemed like she was listening, until she gave a tight smile and nodded. “Understood. Can I leave now?”

Bullcrap!

“No. I’m not letting you leave here until we talk things out.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong, Ronan. We don’t need to have a discussion about this because you know why? Because we aren’t an item. We aren’t dating, and this? This was just a mistake that both of us made and should only try to correct at the moment. That night was a mistake. I overstepped my boundaries, and we both got carried away.”

“Carried away?” I asked, baffled but mostly amused by her words. By her pretense. I don’t give a fuck what she knows. What I know is that she doesn’t regret what happened between us one bit.

“Yeah. Could have been the wine, or something.”

“Or something,” I chuckled as she looked away.

“Don’t lie to me, doll. You can do better than that.”

I stood straight, moving forward with slow strides as she took steps backward and hit the wall.

“I-I’m not lying.”

“Really? Then why are you stuttering?”

My eyes drifted down to her neck. Her pulse was quick—breath sharp.

“Then why are you finding it difficult to breathe properly?”

“I—”

I placed my hand lightly on her throat, and she froze while her widened eyes glanced at my lips.

“You keep telling yourself that what happened between us was just a mistake. You convince yourself that it was a situation where we both crossed the line. But do you want to know what I think, doll? I don’t give a fuck about any of that because I do not regret that night. I do not regret having a taste of you. I do not regret wanting you, the way I want you now—”

“Ronan…”

“My tongue in your mouth, your hands on my body. Everything was fucking perfect. You want to know who she was? She wasn’t my woman. She’s a friend, and baby, I would explain everything if that means you would talk to me again.”

Please, tell me you will.

My fingers found their way to tuck the red strands off her face. My beautiful, beautiful doll. She looked perfect in this knee-length, lavender off-the-shoulder dress. Lord knows how I’m itching to take it off.

“I-I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but it has to stop. It has to. It…it needs to,” she whispered.

“This reaction I get when you’re near. The way my body reacts. The way my heart thumps loudly in my chest and my tummy hurts suddenly. I hate all of that! I shouldn’t be feeling all of that when you’re around me! You’re my father’s best friend! Leave me alone, please,” she begged.

But begging won’t do shit.

I pressed myself against her, bringing my lips to her ear and whispered, “Begging won’t solve this, doll. This is more than simple attraction. It’s like an ache that tortures me slowly, and you’re the only one who can make it go away. So, I’ll be here while you lie to yourself that you don’t feel this too—that you don’t see it. But I’ll be ready when you do admit it. And Doll, you can never escape me because I get what I want, and this time? It’s you. I will not leave you alone.”