The irresistible power

's penthouse. She had spent the entire day trying to focus on work, but his words from their last meeting kept echoing in her mi

but feel a mix of anticipation and apprehension. There was something about Ethan Stone-something hidden beneath the surface-that i

on the edge of the couch, one leg crossed over the other, a drink in his hand. When he saw her, hi

remarked, his voice

h her eyes. "I couldn't stop thinking about what

coffee table. "I wasn't sure you'd want to.

ser to him. "It's not uncomfort

through his tousled hair. "Everything is complicated, L

his words. There was a heaviness to him that she hadn't fully understood be

ou're not ready," she said softly. "B

e between them stretched, filled with an unspoken understanding. It was clear they

bove a whisper. "My family has... a way of making you feel

tween the man he was and the man his family expected him to be. It wasn't just the pressure of run

yes flickering with a mixture of frustration and resol

f he were afraid of being touched. She could feel his hesitation, the walls he had built around himse

ce steady but soft. "You're not them, Ethan. And I

something in his eyes shifted. The walls that had been so carefully constructed see

ust anyone," he whispered

ast would be a barrier, but hearing him say it aloud made it all the more real. She wanted to h

e," Lily said softly. "But trust that

frozen. Ethan looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and so

, but Lily saw the flicker of something in his

-