Crossing Lines
Chapter 26
…
Except this time, I wasn’t facing a team.
พร
I was standing alone. Naked. No mask. No plays. Just me and the man who had already seen through every single one of my defenses.
I was about to go back to his room. Not as a player. Not as a student. Not even as his quarterback.
As his trainee.
And if that wasn’t the scariest, most thrilling damn thing I’d ever done… I didn’t know what was.
I opened the door, took a deep breath, and stepped out.
Aiden’s room was quiet, warm with low light and the faint scent of something herbal in the air. He sat at the edge of the bed, watching
me with that unreadable calm that somehow made my stomach twist.
I didn’t speak. Didn’t ask.
I just walked in, shut the door, and dropped to my knees–like he’d taught me.
Knees slightly apart, back straight, hands laced behind me. I kept my eyes forward, waiting.
The word reward still echoed in my body like a live wire.
He didn’t move for a long moment. Then he stood, walked toward me, and crouched just enough to brush a hand along the side of my
neck. I shivered.
“You remembered,” he said, voice soft but strong.
“Yes, Sir.”
He exhaled through his nose, fingers sliding into my hair for just a second. “Very good. You may sit on the bed.”
I hesitated before rising, unsure whether that was an order or a test. But when I stood and sat on the edge, he joined me–close, but not
touching.
“I told you I’d give you a reward. I meant it.” He turned slightly. “Ask me anything.”
My brain offered up about fifteen options, from what do you want from me? to how far will this go? But instead, the one question that
slipped free was.
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20:36 Fri, Jan 30
Chapter 26
“Have you ever trained anyone else?”
He blinked, then looked away for a second, lips pressing together like he was weighing something.
“Yes,” he finally said. “Many, online. Some briefly in person–club scenes, events. But this?” He glanced back at me. “A long–term, in-
person dynamic like the one we’re building? Only one.”
“Who?” I asked before I could stop myself.
His expression softened. “Micah.”
There was a weight to that name. Not pain. Not regret. But something deeper–something like longing.
I immediately hated him.
“He was… beautiful,” Aiden said. “Emotionally centered. Respectful. Brave. He trusted me completely.” He looked down at his hands for a
second. “I trained him for over two years. We didn’t live together, but we had structure, discipline, closeness. I gave him everything I had,
and he gave it right back.”
Oh, I really hated this dude now.
Every red light in my head was flashing telepathic warnings to this Micah guy to stay the fuck away from my Master… or else.
I swallowed. “So what happened?”
“He left.” Aiden’s voice was quiet. “Not because he stopped loving me. But because he didn’t want to be trained anymore. Not like that.
He wanted to try living without rules. Without protocols. He needed freedom, and I respected that.”
It shouldn’t have stung–but it did. I couldn’t tell if it was jealousy or just the realization that Aiden had done this before. With someone
better. Someone perfect.
“Do you miss him?” I asked.
Aiden was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Sometimes.”
He didn’t offer more. And I didn’t ask,
But a strange knot tightened in my chest anyway.
We didn’t speak again for a while.
Eventually, I leaned back onto the bed, just a little closer. Not touching. Not yet.
He didn’t stop me.
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20:36 Fri, Jan 30
…
Chapter 26
QD
And as my body slowly relaxed into the stillness, I thought–for the first time in years–I might actually fall asleep without fear gnawing
at the edge of my thoughts.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
