Ella ~
The bunches of freshly arrived flowers were set on the counter, or maybe it was just me, I'd been restless all morning, floating through orders, forgetting water timings, even spilling a ribbon spool across the counter. My coworker was on break. Suffering in silence was real.
I sighed, brushing a few loose strands of hair from my face as I leaned forward, adjusting the bouquet of pastel hydrangeas and blush garden roses. It had been two days since that dinner, and somehow, he was still lingering on my mind.
I shouldn't be thinking about Sylus like this. Not about how I felt a wave of emotions when he leaned close, not about how he smiled when he thought I wasn't looking. I pressed a hand to my chest. God. Get it together. Ella.
Then the bell above the door chimed, and I didn't look up right away. But something in the atmosphere shifted. And when I finally looked, "Welcome-" words died in my mouth
There he was. Sylus. White shirt with rolled sleeves. Veins peeked from his forearms as one hand pushed the door open. His coat, that damn coat, draped lazily over one shoulder.
And his eyes? Locked onto me. Unmoving. Unbothered. Unapologetically intense. I froze halfway through tying a ribbon. My throat went dry
"You look... flushed," he said as he stepped closer, gaze flicking from my cheeks to my lips and back again."I—it's warm in here," I managed, swallowing. He tilted his head slightly, the ghost of a smirk tugging at his lips."No. It's not."
He walked toward the counter casually, but deliberately. His eyes never left mine .The air around us thickened like perfume in a sealed room. I turned my baconto him, pretending to adjust the display.
Why was he looking at me like that? Like I was something he couldn't decide.
"You're avoiding me," he murmured from the counter. Low. Calm. Dangerous. I turned, flustered. "I'm working." His brows rose slightly, as if amused by the excuse. "And last night?"
My fingers stilled over the lavender stems. My voice came out softer than I intended. "I'm sorry… for the abrupt ending. I didn't expect to run into Asher." A pause.
He stepped forward, hands resting on the counter, leaned forward enough that I could smell his fresh shampoo. It curled into my lungs and stayed.
"I hope you don't mind—" I started, eyes flicking up, but he cut me off. "You still owe me." His voice was firmer now. Darker. A tether. A pull.
"Owe you what?" I asked, heat rising to my cheeks. "A treat," he said, his eyes holding my gaze. "You promised."
I stared at him, my mouth parting slightly, words tangled in my throat, his hand resting beside mine on the counter. Our fingers are almost touching. His voice dropped to a murmur, private, intimate.
"Give it now." I blinked. "What—now? I'm in the middle of—" He smirked fully this time, eyes twinkling just a little."Your break's in ten. I've timed it." Of course, he had. I stared at him, heartbeat thumping through my chest. Then let out a soft laugh, shaking my head. "Fine. You're impossible, you know that?" He didn't deny it. He just said, "I'll wait outside."
And as he turned to leave, I couldn't help but smile. I caught my reflection in the mirror. What the fuck? I was smiling? Seriously. I knew I was screwed.
Ten minutes later, I stepped out of the flower shop and into the breeze, my cardigan sleeves slipping off one shoulder, hair catching wind, and my heart already racing.
"Where are we going?" I looked at him, who was standing by the car, gazing at the streets." To the beach," he said, his voice calm as he opened the passenger seat for me. I settled i.. His car smelled like.... My perfume? The one I always wear...Vanilla and roses.
The ride to the beach was quiet, and the car came to a halt beach was less lively than usual I looked at him"What do you want to eat?" his voice calm and low "Ice cream. I will be waiting by beach then." we both got off and I went to store to fetch ice cream which was near beach.
The wind was cold, brushing against my skin. My cardigan clung to me for dear life as I carefully went down the uneven sand path, two ice creams balanced carefully in my hands. Strawberry and blackcurrant Sundays spins.
And there he was leaning back against the railing like the cold meant nothing to him. Trench coat folded neatly over his arm, sunglasses pushed halfway down the bridge of his nose, his expression unreadable, calm, detached, a little too still.
The waves crashed behind him, loud and wild, but he stood like the silence between them. Unbothered. Unreachable. Untouchable. I felt a twist in my stomach. The contrast between us was absurd. Did I look like someone's lost cause in my full-fitted tank top and oversized cardigan, layering it? I looked like a kid. And he looked like he walked out of a black-and-white film, all shadows and impossible control.
I inhaled and stepped forward. "Here you go," I said, voice calm, trying to subsidize my sulking by offering him the cone. "Took you long enough," he said as he reached out, fingers brushing mine for the briefest second. I ignored the jolt in my skin. "Seriously, who eats ice cream in winter?"
He took a bite of the strawberry. Then looked at me sideways, a flicker of amusement peeking through his cool exterior. "Us." I raised a brow, licking my blackcurrant. The sweet tang hit perfectly, and I let out a soft mmm before answering, "I didn't know you were an ice cream person."
"Well," he said, eyes still on the sea, "sometimes doing things out of the way is good." The wind shifted. I turned my face just enough to hide the stupid flutter in my stomach.
Then "You eat like a child," he murmured, a low chuckle vibrating through his chest. I blinked. "I do not." I glared, wiping the corner of my mouth quickly. But when I looked up, he was already watching me with that smug gleam in his eye. The height difference didn't help. He stood there, tall and composed, while I looked like some small, grumpy kid.
"Stop laughing," I scowled. He laughed harder. "You look like a grumpy kitten." "What! You li-" But before I could finish, he ran. Just turned on his heel and took off laughing.
"You wanna play dirty, huh?" I shouted, ice cream left over gone in one go, legs kicking into action, I ran after him, sprinting, heart racing, lungs burning. He was fast. Too fast. Damn those long legs and his stupid, calm demeanor. We looked like absolute lunatics running on a winter beach, but I didn't care. Not when he teased like that.
I finally caught up just barely and tugged the back of his shirt. "Gotcha!" with the biggest smile I had in years. He turned, caught off guard, eyes flickering wide with something I couldn't place before we both tripped.
The world tilted and then crashed.
We tumbled into the sand, breathless and tangled. My hands were still gripping his shirt as I ended up above him, knees on the side of his waist, one between his legs. My hair spilled over one shoulder, swaying slightly in the breeze. His trench coat had slipped, forgotten, and his sunglasses lay crooked in the sand.
He was under me, black eyes staring up, breath uneven. And I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. "Are you alright?" I asked softly, unsure if I was still breathing right. He didn't answer for a second.
His gaze locked onto mine, unwavering, intense. His hair, which was usually neat, was now tousled, sticking to his temple, a soft glisten of sweat catching the fading light. His lips were parted slightly, and right there at the corner of his mouth, a trace of pink Strawberry ice cream.
I swallowed hard. There was no distance now. Just his chest rising beneath me, uneven breath matching mine. Just the draw of his breath. Just his fingers curled into the sand, like he was holding himself back. And my stomach?
Flipping. Chaos. This wasn't a joke anymore. Not a teasing chase or a playful fall. Something had shifted. The moment stretched, breathless, raw. Like the first pull before a wave crashes, and still... neither of us moved. I snapped out of the moment, backing off, redness crept behind my neck as I broke the silence, "See now who is the kid now!" I said with a small grin, he frowned as he sat on the sand, one hand resting on his knee & other on the sand. I pointed, but his gaze didn't waver from me. I shook my head with a laugh as I leaned forward, "Excuse me." I whipped his corner of mouth with the sleeve of my cardigan.
His gaze softened....A slight breath, hitched soft sunlight from clouded weather highlighted his features, his eyes. Looking up close, there was a small mole under his eyes... his ears were red. He looked away as I backed away, standing up, cleaning myself.
Sylus's pov~
"Gotcha!" I turned just as her fingers gripped the back of my shirt. A second too late.I didn't process the look on her face fast enough, the victorious grin, the flush on her cheeks, the fire in her eyes. She looked like mischief dressed in sunshine. I was caught in the moment before I even hit the ground. Then Crash. We stumbled. She collided into me, full force, wild laugh still ringing out.
I tried to brace myself, but the sand was loose and she was... everywhere. Softness. Warmth. Hair. Laughing breath against my throat.I hit the ground with a dull thud, elbows digging into the sand. My chest rose sharply. Then
Her over me. She didn't mean to straddle me; it just happened in the chaos. Her knees landed one on the side of my hips, one between my parted legs, denim brushing against my waist. Her palms clutched my shirt where she'd grabbed me, fingers fisted in the fabric like she still hadn't processed the fall.
And her face God. So close. Hair spilled over one side of her face, creating this dim, private little world between us. Nothing existed outside of it. Not the sea. Not the sky. Not the f*cking oxygen, I suddenly forgot how to breathe.
The sunlight slipped through her hair in golden streaks, lighting up her skin like a dream I didn't deserve. And then that pendant. That stupid, delicate little charm she always wore it swung forward with gravity and landed… Right against my bottom lip.
I froze. Inches. We were inches apart. Her breath mingled with mine. Sweet. Nervous. A little sharp like citrus from the blackcurrant ice cream. My hands had fallen flat on the sand, but I could feel the heat of her legs bracketing me, the weight of her sitting there like she belonged. Her lashes fluttered, her lips slightly parted, chest rising with mine in sync, uneven trying to steady the breath.
I blinked once. Slowly. And f*ck me I was staring at her mouth. Her laugh was gone now. And what replaced it? Stillness. But not the awkward kind. No. This was charged. This was the kind of pause that sets the whole goddamn body on fire.
I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I was too stunned by how undeniably pretty she looked up close. Just her. With her cardigan slipping off one shoulder, that tube top hugging her like it was made for her body, and that look in her eyes-
That she was just as caught off guard as I was. She whispered, "Are you okay?", barely audible, like anything louder would break the spell. But her voice broke me instead.My throat was dry. Should I just tug her pendant down? Will I get a reaction out of her that will soothe chaos going inside me?'
Then she blinked And the spell broke. She pulled back quickly, cheeks flushed, voice light and teasing as she grinned. "See now who's the kid now?" I didn't reply, frowning at her words, my mind still reeling. I sat up slowly, one hand bracing on the sand, the other finding my knee as I grounded myself in the cold earth beneath me. She pointed at me with triumph in her eyes, hair still wind-kissed and chaotic, ice cream stain probably forgotten on her fingers. And I still didn't look away.
-It was soft, innocent, almost cruel in how it made me ache. I hated how much I craved it hated that I wanted more.-
I couldn't. Because the truth was I'd never seen her like this before. And she didn't even know how prettyshe looked. Not curated. Not careful. Just… effortless. Hair wild. Face flushed. That laugh while she ran behind me and, this time. They were the first real ones she'd let out around me.
Then she leaned in, I held my breath again. "Excuse me." She murmured it so casually. But her voice was softer now, gentler. And that sleeve of her oversized cardigan brushed the corner of my mouth. She wiped the smudge. A simple thing. So small. But it wrecked me.
-I hadn't felt gentleness in years. I'd buried that part of me long ago, shoved it deep beneath scars and sharp edges, cause I wasn't meant to deserve it.-
Because no one touches me like that. Not anymore. Not without expectation. Not without tension. But her? She did it like it was natural. Like it meant nothing. And that's exactly why it meant everything.
-Her smile. Her warmth. Her touch. I wanted to know how her body would feel molded against mine, how her breath would hitch under my fingers, how her eyes would darken when she whispered my name.-
I was unraveling. My ears burned.I noticed how her cheeks were flushed, and a tiny mole near her neckline. How would my lips feel under her skin. I looked away. She pulled back, standing, brushing sand off her jeans like she hadn't just seen me come undone in real time. She stood, carefree, distracted.
-She doesn't even realize it, but she's already mine. My calm in the chaos. My light in the filth. My last flicker of sanity.- I, Sylus Morano, Vow that Ella is mine. My woman. My obsession. I'll chain her to me in ways fate itself will never undo, no one could take her away from me. I'll make her feel things no soul has dared to, worship her with madness, ruin her with tenderness. She'll belong to me… utterly, obsessively, eternally.