Page 109 of Claimed At First Sight

Something flickers in his eyes. His gaze drops to my mouth before returning to my eyes.

My heartbeat goes haywire.

One of his hands settles against my hip, his thumb moving back and forth in an unexpected caress.

I’m not even sure he realizes he’s doing it. I, however, am acutely aware.

“No,” he says roughly. “Not yet.”

My throat tightens. I try to glare at him, but fail gloriously.

“I’ll never be yours. Never,” I whisper, because it seems my voice has decided now is an excellent time to abandon me.

Still, I add, perhaps to remind myself more than him, “I decide what’s best for me.”

For a moment, neither of us says anything.

The anger is still there. But something else has slipped into the space between us.

Something I’m much less equipped to deal with.

His thumb shifts against my hip. My breath hitches, and his eyes darken when that minuscule sound registers.

For the first time since he stopped me, something in his expression slips. It’s… unsettling.

“You have no idea what it did to me, not knowing where you were.”

My irritation falters. “What?”

His gaze doesn’t leave mine. “You disappeared.”

His voice is quieter now. “For nearly an hour, I didn’t know where you were or if you were safe. Something could have happened to you.”

I swallow hard.

The sternness that was there moments ago is gone. In its place is an expression I don’t know what to do with.

Then he blinks and the moment shatters, his walls slamming back into place. Maximo drops his hand and steps away. The sudden loss of his warmth leaves me off-balance.

Dragging a hand through his hair, he seems irritated with something.

Me?

Himself?

He turns and strides away, calling over his shoulder, “I meant what I said earlier, Mia. Don’t do it again.”

I watch him disappear around the corner. Only once he’s gone do I realize my heart is still racing.

What the hell was that?

Chapter Thirty-One

Mialina

Islam my bedroom door harder than necessary and lean against it. For several seconds, I stand there, my pulse racing, replaying the whole encounter in the hallway.

His hand braced beside my head. That intense look in his eyes. The way he’d filled the space until there seemed to be nowhere else to focus but on him.