Chapter 61 Crossing the line
Alexander.
Dandelion's chest heaved, her blue eyes blazing with something dangerous. "You don't know why?, Then stop acting like you own me! Stop pretending you have any right to be angry!"
"You think I wanted this?" I snapped, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "You think I planned to care about what you do or who you're with?, and I'm not pretending, You're the one who keeps pushing boundaries, breaking rules, making this complicated when it was supposed to be simple."
"Simple?" She scoffed "Nothing about this has ever been simple, Alexander. Not since the moment you pulled me out of that river."
"Don't." I stepped closer, my control slipping. "Don't throw that in my face."
"Why not? It's the truth!" Her voice cracked. "You saved me just to trap me in this contract, in these stupid rules, while you go off and do whatever you want with Roxy!"
The mention of Roxy's name made something inside me snap.
"This has nothing to do with Roxy."
"Everything has to do with her!" Dandelion shoved my chest, hard. "You can sleep with her whenever you want, but I can't even look at another man without you losing your mind!"
I caught her wrists before she could shove me again gripping her firmly, but not too tight because I was afraid of hurting her, "Stop it."
"No!" She struggled against my hold, her face flushed with anger, pain and something else I couldn't name. "Let me go!"
"Not until you listen to me."
"I don't want to listen!" She twisted in my grasp, and suddenly we were too close. Her breath came in short gasps, her lips parted, and I could feel the heat radiating off her body.
My fingers tightened around her wrists. "Dandelion."
"I said let me go Alex!" She yanked hard, and I released her, but she stumbled forward instead of pulling away.
Her hands landed flat against my chest.
We both froze.
The air between us sparked with sudden electricity. I could feel her heartbeat through her palms, racing just as fast as mine. Her eyes lifted to meet mine, and in that moment, I saw every emotion she had been trying to hide: the hurt, the confusion, the want.
"Alex?." She whispered.
Something in me snapped.
I closed the distance between us, my mouth crashing against hers with all the frustration and desire I had been holding back for weeks. It wasn't careful or soft, it was raw and desperate and absolutely inevitable.
She gasped against my lips, and I took advantage, deepening the kiss with a hunger that terrified me. My hands moved from her wrists to her waist, pulling her body tightly against mine.
For one second, she went rigid. Then she melted.
Her fingers curled into my shirt, and she kissed me back with the same fierce intensity, matching me stroke for stroke. It was angry and passionate and nothing like our first accidental kiss at the pool, or our second kiss which was meant to shut her up.
This was deliberate.
This was both of us giving in.
I walked her backwards until her back hit the wall, never breaking contact. She made a sound that went straight through me, and I pressed harder against her, my hands sliding up to frame her face.
"I hate this," she breathed against my mouth. "I hate that I want you Alex."
"I know." I whispered on her lips and kissed her again, harder this time.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, and I lifted her effortlessly, supporting her weight as she clung to me.
The contract, the rules, Noona's expectations, everything dissolved into thin air as all I could think of was this moment.
I carried her to the bed in my study, our mouths still fused together. We fell onto the mattress in a thud, and she pulled me down with her, her nails scraping softly against my scalp.
"Rule 14," she gasped between kisses.
"Screw Rule 14." I yanked my shirt over my shoulder and tossed it aside.
Her hands immediately went to my bare chest, exploring and claiming.
Fuck.
I groaned and captured her mouth again, my hands pushing off her hoodie with urgency.
"Is this a mistake?" she asked, but she was helping me, pushing the hoodie off her shoulders.
"Probably." I kissed down her neck, feeling her pulse jump beneath my lips.
"Do you want me to stop?" I asked half heartedly, planting kisses on her cleavage.
Her answer was to pull me back to her lips, kissing me with a fierceness that left no room for doubt.
I was far too gone to even stop now even if she wanted to.
There's no way I would let her go now, until I claim every bit of her body completely.
Her fingers worked magic in my hair and I felt my scalp tingle, adrenaline rushed through me like never before.
In a blink both our clothes disappeared in a blur of desperate hands and racing heartbeats. Every touch felt like a battle and a surrender at the same time. She arched beneath me, and I nearly lost my mind.
"Alex." My name on her lips undid me completely.
"Say you want me Dandy."
"Alex." She pulled me closer, her eyes locked on mine. "Please."
I captured her lips again, and everything else ceased to exist.
I thrust into her slowly, she gasped against my lip and damn she was so tight like she had never been touched before.
Then we moved together in a rhythm that felt both completely new and somehow familiar, like we'd been building to this moment since the very beginning.
Our pacing grew rough and passionate but absolutely not the arrangement we had signed.
This was real.
This was us breaking the core rule we had set and not caring about the consequences.
...............
When it was over, we laid tangled in the sheets, our breathing slowly returning to normal.
Silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken words and terrifying implications.
I stared at the ceiling, feeling her body pressed against my side, and tried to process what we had just done.
The contract was supposed to keep things simple, controlled and out of each other's boundaries.
But nothing about the way she fit against me felt simple.
Nothing about the way my heart was still racing felt controlled.
"Alex." Her voice was barely audible.
"Don't say anything" I closed my eyes. "Just don't."
She went quiet, but I could feel the tension in her body, I could practically feel her thoughts spiraling.
What did this mean? How did we get to this? Did we just destroy everything? And most of all What next?
Even I myself didn't have answers to any of those questions.
All I knew was that crossing this line changed everything, and I had no idea how to go back.