Chapter 253: The Chaser and The Chased

Holly’s POV

Why am I shaking? I should be the one seducing him…not the other way round. This is my game. Not his!

Just then, he leaned in closer, lips almost brushing my ear. “Tell me to stop,” he whispered. “Say the word and I’ll walk away right now. But if you don’t…”

He pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes searching mine, giving me every out.

And stupid obsessed me, I didn’t take it.

My silence stretched between us, thick and electric.

A slow, exciting smile curved his mouth. Not smug…something deeper. Victorious and relieved all at once.

He didn’t kiss me. Not yet.

Instead, he took Justin’s leather jacket by the collar and slid it off my shoulders again, letting it drop to the floor without a second glance. Then he draped his own suit jacket over me once more…slowly, deliberately, fingers lingering at the lapels as he adjusted it, brushing my collarbone, the hollow of my throat.

His hands stayed there, framing my neck lightly, thumbs resting just below my jaw, tipping my face up to his.

“You have no idea,” he murmured, voice barely above a breath, “how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “Then why now?” I managed, the question slipping out before I could stop it. “What changed? You’ve been the mouse and I’ve been the cat… What caused the role change?”

His eyes darkened. “Nothing changed. I just got tired of pretending I don’t lose my mind every time you walk into a room. Tired of watching you from across my own damn office, wanting to touch you and knowing I shouldn’t. Not until you were ready to hear it.”

I swallowed hard. “And you think I’m ready now?”

He leaned in until our foreheads almost touched, until I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips.

“I think,” he said quietly, “you’ve been ready for a while. I was just stubborn as hell to let you in. But now, Holly. I am.”

He sounded desperate. That alone gave me the feeling that something was off. He’s onto something, but I don’t know what just yet. A helpless laugh escaped me, shaky and soft.

His thumb traced my lower lip, and my eyes fluttered closed at the contact. That…that right there is my fucking weakness. Just a touch and that rational part of my brain closed up for the year.

“Tell me I’m wrong,” he challenged, voice rough with restraint. “Tell me you don’t feel this.”

I couldn’t.

I didn’t.

Instead, I rose up on my toes…just slightly…and closed the last inch between us. Just because I had this need that if I don’t kiss him right now, I might die.

The first brush of my lips against his was soft, tentative. Testing.

The second he felt it, something in him snapped.

His hand slid into my hair, angling my head exactly how he wanted, and he kissed me like he’d been starving for it. Deep, slow, claiming…his mouth moving over mine with devastating precision, like he’d imagined this a thousand times and knew exactly how to unravel me.

My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer. A soft sound escaped me…half moan, half surrender…and he answered it with a low growl against my lips that shot heat straight through me.

The guys at the control room must be having a showcase of their lives right now watching us kiss in the hallway. But that didn’t bother me a bit.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard. His forehead rested against mine, eyes closed, like he was savoring it.

“I need you, Holly,” he whispered, the word rough, desperate, possessive and tender all at once.

I didn’t argue.

I couldn’t find the words anyway.

He pressed one last soft kiss to the corner of my mouth, then to my temple, lingering there.

“Go clean up,” he said quietly, voice still thick. “I’ll be at my desk. When you’re ready…come find me.”

He stepped back, giving me space, but his eyes never left mine…promising more, promising everything.

I nodded, clutching his jacket tighter around me like armor.

As he walked away…slow, controlled, but with tension in every line of his body…I leaned back against the wall, touching my lips, heart racing.

Holy hell.

David Hunt just kissed me senseless in the office hallway.

And I was already counting the minutes until I walked into his office and let him do it again.

“Get it together, Holly,” I said to myself quietly.

I slipped into the ladies’ restroom on our floor, the door swinging shut behind me with a soft click that felt way too loud in my spinning head.

The second I turned toward the mirror, I froze.

Oh my God.

I looked like absolute hell.

Mascara smudged under my eyes from the crying earlier, lipstick half gone, hair frizzed out like I’d been caught in a windstorm. My cheeks were blotchy, eyes red-rimmed. I looked like a grieving widow who’d just come from a funeral.

David saw me like this? Looking like a total mourning wife?

No. Absolutely not.

I screamed in horror and dropped my purse on the counter. I dug through it frantically, pulling out the pack of makeup wipes I always keep for emergencies. I started scrubbing…hard…wiping away the black streaks, the faded lipstick, the evidence of every tear I’d let fall today.

Cold water on my face next. I splashed it over and over until my skin felt tight and awake. Then concealer, quick swipe of foundation from the compact, fresh lipstick…bold red, because if I was going to play this game, I was going to look like I owned it.

I ran my fingers through my hair, taming the mess into loose waves. Better.

I opened the small tote I’d grabbed from my desk before bolting in here. Inside…a spare silk blouse, crisp white, perfectly pressed. I shrugged off David’s suit jacket…warm, still carrying his scent…and laid it carefully on the narrow marble slab next to the sinks. Right beside it was Justin’s leather jacket, the one I’d been wearing earlier.

Off with the old shirt, on with the new. Buttons done up just right…not too modest, not too revealing. Professional, but the kind that made people look twice.

I stepped back, checked the mirror again.

There.

I look polished, put-together, dangerous…like the Holly that is obsessed with David Hunt.

I exhaled slowly, steadying the wild thump in my chest.

Then I looked myself dead in the eye and said it out loud, quiet but firm…

“I’m the chaser, not the chased. I can’t give David an easy pass. I’ll make him grovel, beg, cry if that’s what it takes to earn a place in my life…although he already has my life in his hands anyway.”

I flicked my hair over one shoulder, grabbed my purse, and walked out like I owned the hallway.

Back at my desk, I folded Justin’s leather jacket neatly and stuffed it into a tote bag…out of sight. David’s suit jacket I left draped over the corner of my chair. Close enough to notice, far enough that he’d have to come get it if he wanted it back.

I wasn’t delivering anything to him. If he wanted it…if he wanted me…he could come fetch it himself.

I settled in, opened spreadsheets, started typing like nothing had happened.

Ten minutes later, one of the junior accountants…Tim, I think…walked past with a file, heading into David’s office. Perfect.

I stood, smoothed my blouse, and caught Tim just as he reached the door.

“Hey, Tim…could you return this to Mr. Hunt for me?” I handed him David’s jacket with a sweet smile. “He lent it to me earlier.”

Tim blinked, took it, nodded. “Sure thing, Holly.”

Door closed behind him.

I sat back down, fingers flying over the keyboard, smirk hidden.

Five minutes after that, Tim came out, jacket still in hand. He stopped at my desk, looking awkward.

“Uh… Mr. Hunt said to give it back. Told me you should bring it in yourself.”

He dropped the jacket on the corner of my desk and scurried off.

I stared at it and gritted my teeth. Breathe, Holly. Just breathe.

He wants me to come in so I’ll appear desperate, although I am? No. I’ll pretend to have some dignity and pride.

If he wants it, he can come get it himself.