Chapter 2 Two Parallel Lines

• “Don't move, Aurelia,” Thaddeus said into the total dark.
• His voice was a low, heavy command, echoing close to her ear. His grip on her waist tightened, his broad palms pressing through the thin silk of her blouse. Aurelia felt her pulse throbbing against her ribs, not from panic at the blackness, but from the sudden, overwhelming heat of his body flush against hers.
• “I can’t see a thing,” she whispered, her fingers staying locked onto the lapels of his suit jacket. Beneath her palms, his chest rose and fell in deep, deliberate breaths. “The emergency backup should have kicked in instantly.”
• “It didn't,” he said. He didn't release her. Instead, his fingers pulled her half an inch closer until her thighs brushed the heavy fabric of his trousers. “Whatever failed wiped out the whole building.”
• Aurelia swallowed hard, her senses sharpening in the complete absence of light. Without her sight, every other feeling grew huge: the crisp scent of sandalwood and warm skin filling her lungs, his hot breath brushing her forehead, and the thick tension rising between them in the silent room.
• “We need to find the emergency lights,” she said, though her voice lacked any real conviction.
• “They run on the central grid,” Thaddeus murmured. His thumb rubbed slow, deliberate circles into the curve of her hip, sending a flush straight down her spine. “The whole street is black.”
• “Thaddeus...”
• “What?”
• “Your hands.”
• He didn't pull back. Instead, his left hand slid slowly up her back, his fingers tracing her spine beneath her blouse until he reached the nape of her neck. The heat of his palm sank deep into her skin, making her breath hitch.
• “You were going to say something before the power failed,” he said softly, his lips so close to her cheek she felt the movement of his mouth. “Tell me now.”
• Aurelia held her breath. For three long years, they had respected every boundary. They slept in separate wings, sat at opposite ends of tables, and treated each other like distant business associates. But here in the blackness, stripped of their titles, phones, and schedules, those rules felt completely artificial.
• “I was going to tell you...” Aurelia started, her hands slipping up his chest to slide over his broad shoulders. Her fingers dug into the cloth of his jacket. “I was going to tell you that three years is a long time to pretend.”
• Thaddeus let out a quiet, rough breath. “Pretend what?”
• “That I don't feel this every single time you stand near me.”
• In the dark, Thaddeus’s rigid composure broke. He let out a low growl, his arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her body flush against his front. Aurelia gasped as she felt the hard line of his chest pressing against her breasts, her nipples hardening instantly against her lace bra.
• “You think you’re the only one pretending?” Thaddeus rasped, his tone far darker and more raw than she had ever heard it in a boardroom. He tilted her head up, his fingers digging gently into her hair. “Do you know what it’s like to watch you walk past me every night, looking stunning, and know I’m not allowed to touch you?”
• Aurelia’s head went light. “You set the terms, Thaddeus.”
• “And you signed them,” he shot back, his mouth hovering a fraction of an inch above hers. “Because you wanted safety for your firm.”
• “I wanted my family to survive,” she corrected, her voice trembling as his hips shifted, pressing his heavy length firmly against her lower belly. “I never said I didn't want you.”
• The confession hung between them, heavy and raw.
• Thaddeus didn't hesitate. He captured her mouth in a deep, possessive kiss that shattered three years of silence in a single second.
• Aurelia parted her lips with a soft moan, giving in to the pressure immediately. His tongue slipped inside, hot and demanding, taking complete control while his hand slid down her back, past her waist, and cupped her rear, lifting her slightly to pull her closer into his heat.
• The kiss was wild, starved, and completely unfiltered. There was no polite restraint left between them. It was three years of locked-away desire bursting through the wall. Aurelia wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, tangling her fingers into his short hair, pulling him down as she kissed him back with equal intensity.
• Thaddeus shifted his weight, backing her up through the black room until the back of her knees hit the edge of the velvet sofa. He lowered her onto the soft cushions, his heavy frame immediately hovering over hers, taking up all the space in her world.
• “Thaddeus,” she gasped when his mouth left hers to trace a burning path down her jawline to her throat.
• His teeth grazed the sensitive skin over her pulse point, making her arch her back off the sofa. His hand found the hem of her silk blouse, slipping beneath the fabric. His warm, slightly rough palm felt hot against the soft skin of her stomach, sliding upward until his fingers cupped the underside of her bra.
• “Tell me if you want me to stop, Aurelia,” he rasped, his thumb running over the swollen peak through the thin lace. “Say the word and I step back.”
• Aurelia felt a deep, heavy ache pulsing low between her legs. She reached down, her hand gripping the front of his trousers, feeling the thick, throbbing shape beneath the heavy cloth.
• “Don't you dare stop,” she whispered, her voice thick with need.
• Thaddeus groaned, a deep sound from his chest. His fingers flicked the front clasp of her bra open, freeing her breasts to the dark room before his warm hands covered them, squeezing the soft flesh and rolling her tight tips between his thumbs.
• Aurelia arched into his touch, her hips lifting instinctively to seek friction against his thigh.
• “You’ve been driving me crazy for three years,” Thaddeus muttered against her skin, his mouth dropping to her breast, taking her tight peak into his mouth and sucking deeply.
• Aurelia cried out, her fingers tightening on his shoulders as a wave of heat flooded her core. She parted her legs, wrapping her thighs around his hip to draw him flush against her wet center. Through the thin fabric of her trousers and underwear, she was already slick, burning for the feel of him inside her.
• “Look at me,” Thaddeus ordered, his hands leaving her chest to undo the button of her trousers.
• “I can’t see you,” she panted, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
• “Then feel me,” he whispered, unzipping her pants and sliding his fingers beneath the silk lace of her underwear.
• His long fingers brushed through her soft hair and slid directly into her wetness. Aurelia gasped loudly, her back snapping off the cushions as his thumb found her clitoris, pressing down with a slow, firm stroke that made her hips buck against his hand.
• “Thaddeus, oh God,” she gasped, her hands clutching at his back as he began a deep, steady rhythm with his fingers, slipping two of them deep inside her tight body while his thumb worked her sensitive peak.
• “You’re so wet for me, Aurelia,” he growled, his mouth coming back up to capture hers, drinking in her breathless moans as his fingers stroked deeper, pushing her higher and higher toward the edge. “Say it. Say who you belong to.”
• “You,” she sobbed softly against his lips, her body tightening violently around his hand as a fierce, overwhelming climax rippled through her, making her shake from head to toe in the dark.
• Thaddeus held her tight against his chest, his fingers riding out every spasm of her release, his own breath ragged and harsh against her wet neck as the dark apartment grew hotter by the minute.