Page 74 of The Commons

He walks closer and whispers, “Get my attention.”

“What?”

My eyes follow his every expression. I am at a loss on what he wants. I’m flipping the pages in my mind and trying to remember the topics that came up prior to this, to see if I missed anything, if I wrote anything, or highlighted anything that might have given me away, but no… I find none. Except one, the one that I was sure I hid. The one I was sure I did not leave inside this book. A note.

Then suddenly, it hits me, the only explanation behind this interrogation and confrontation must be that he stole it. He stole it while I was unaware. He stole this heart of mine. And he knew it all this time as I pretended to still have it intact. How could he be so brutal?

I am exposed. I can no longer hide my affection for him. Like a magnet, I feel my chest pulling me toward him, so I have to run, to move as far away as possible from him, in hopes to deter him from my path. So, I push my feet backward and put my hand behind my back to hide its tremor.

But he does not relent. He follows my every movement. Like a magnet, he is gravitating toward me. “Looking into my eyes, spying on me, any excuse to seem favorable before me, all to get my attention.”

“I…”

“I think you have it. You have my attention.”

What? I can hardly believe what is happening. But I can’t stop it. And in all honesty, I don’t want to. I let go of a nervous breath. I try to draw back and bend to avoid eye contact, but I feel the pillar behind me. From a gradual scroll through my neck, he closes in, caressing my hair. I gasp as he draws closer, touching my breath with his lips.

“The question is, do I have yours?” Pesh says.

With a slight smile in my eyes, I nod, looking into his eyes.

“Bow to me.”

“I… what?” My voice flutters.

He whispers in my ear, “I don’t repeat the same thing twice.”

I can hear my beating heart against the feeling of his ultimatum, heating every part of me. I see what he’s doing. I defied him on the first day we met by looking into his eyes, and now he wants me to surrender to him freely, of my own choosing, or he won’t go any further. I can see through his golden glare that he’s not going to let me off easily. A part of his challenge makes me smile on the inside, knowing that I’ve always felt drawn to him, but my lips fold so as not to show it. My eyes dart up, staring at the face of his challenge. My eyes blink. I can’t believe I’m doing this. But I give him the satisfaction he seeks. He wants me to concede. Okay, I’ll concede.

For now.

I cross my legs, my right hand stretched out. My left hand scrunches the material at the edge of my skirt. Slowly, I bow. I hold still for a while to give him the satisfaction he wants. Then, my head gradually tilts up. I take a moment, then my eyes dart up, colliding with his. My right hand flicks like a rifle as I whisper, “Are you happy?”

“Mm-hm, yes.” He nods with a self-assured smirk, drawing even closer, relaxing on the side of the wall near me.

Just as he does, my eyes dart up, and succinctly I say, “You next.”

His eyes darken, flashing into mine, our gazes locked in a fiery constellation, and I hold my breath, on edge on what he will say. Before I can exhale, he takes a step closer toward me.

I tighten my fists as he advances, his piercing stare searing into mine, tracking every breath that leaves my body… but… he doesn’t bow. No.

“I’ll give you something better than that.” He kneels.

My lips prop wide open, speechless. What the… I shut my lips instantly as my eyes glance down to see him lowered on one knee. For me!

His fiery gaze does not leave me once as his last knee glides to the floor, his eyes staring into my entire soul. And then all at once, his fingers scroll up my thighs, pressing tightly.

My chest rises, shock racing through me. Oh my!

“Was that what you had in mind, Tavia?” His voice sinks into every part of me, gliding up to my thighs, sending a rush of heat through my entire body. Oh my God.

“Yep. That’s good. More than enough.”

“I can go lower.”

“No. That’s really, really… satisfactory,” I insist, gripping his hands, my body utterly flushed, every part of me on fire.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be the last time I get on my knees for you.”