Chapter 6 Unraveling

• Unraveling
• Noah’s nights had become a blur of tension, conflict, and an undeniable, gnawing attraction. Every time Elias came into the club, every time their eyes met, the walls he had built to protect himself cracked just a little bit more. He was supposed to be strong, to keep control, but Elias had made it clear that Noah’s resistance was nothing more than a game to him. And like a puppet, Noah was starting to feel the strings pull tighter, even as he fought to break free.
• Tonight, the weight of Elias’s presence was more suffocating than ever. The club was quieter than usual, the kind of night where the air felt heavy with secrets, the music low, the lights dim. It was the perfect atmosphere for Elias to make his move. Noah didn’t even need to look up to know he was here. He could feel it—feel Elias’s gaze on him, piercing through the chaos of the bar, focusing entirely on him.
• Noah kept his back to Elias, trying to focus on the glass he was polishing, his movements sharp and quick, desperate for something to do that didn’t involve looking at him. But it was impossible. Elias had this way of getting under his skin, of making everything else fade into the background until there was nothing but the raw, pulsing need between them.
• “Working hard, I see,” came Elias’s voice, smooth and intoxicating. He was standing right next to Noah now, his presence impossible to ignore.
• Noah clenched his jaw and forced himself to look up. Elias was as composed as ever, his dark eyes gleaming with something dangerous, something almost predatory. He was dressed casually tonight—dark jeans, a black T-shirt, and a leather jacket that seemed to emphasize the starkness of his posture, the power he carried with him.
• “I’m just doing my job,” Noah said, his voice colder than he felt, the sharp edge meant to keep Elias at bay. It didn’t work. Nothing ever worked when it came to Elias.
• Elias leaned in, just slightly, his breath warm against Noah’s ear. “I know you think you’re in control, Noah. But we both know you’re not. You’re not fooling anyone.”
• Noah swallowed, his throat dry. He should’ve pushed him away, should’ve told him to stop. But the words stuck in his throat. He could feel the heat of Elias’s proximity, the warmth of his body, the weight of his presence. And worse, he could feel the flicker of desire starting to spread through him again, despite every attempt to suppress it.
• “You don’t know anything about me,” Noah said, forcing his voice to sound steady. But even as he said it, a part of him knew it wasn’t true. Elias did know. He knew exactly how to play him, how to make him doubt himself.
• Elias’s smile was slow, deliberate, a predator toying with its prey. “I know more than you think. And I know you’re already lost, Noah. You just haven’t accepted it yet.”
• Noah’s pulse spiked at the words, the way Elias seemed to see straight through him, the way he had unraveled him bit by bit. He wanted to scream, wanted to push Elias away. But that pull, that deep, magnetic force that seemed to tether him to Elias—he couldn’t escape it.
• “You don’t get it,” Noah snapped, stepping back. His hands were shaking, and the movement made Elias’s eyes flash with something dark and knowing. “I’m not yours.”
• Elias didn’t move, but the smirk on his face deepened. “Not yet, Noah. But I can feel you slipping. Every time you look at me, every time you breathe my name in your mind, you slip a little further.”
• Noah’s heart pounded, and he turned away, trying to regain control, to steady himself. But the truth was there, lurking behind every word, every glance. Elias was right. He had been slipping for days now, and it terrified him. How had he let it get this far? How had he let Elias—this dangerous, possessive man—get under his skin?
• “Stop,” Noah muttered, though the word came out weaker than he intended. “Stop playing these games.”
• Elias’s voice was low, teasing. “I’m not playing, Noah. This is real. You’ll see. Soon enough.”
• The tension in the air was unbearable, and Noah could feel it in the pit of his stomach, like something dark was stirring, something that was about to break. And yet, he couldn’t make himself walk away. He couldn’t leave, couldn’t escape the magnetic force pulling him in.
• Before he could process what was happening, Elias was in front of him again, his hand gripping Noah’s wrist with a force that made his breath catch. Noah opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Elias had already pulled him closer, his face inches away from Noah’s.
• “Noah,” Elias whispered, his voice filled with a dark intensity that sent a shiver down Noah’s spine. “You think you’re in control, but you’re not. You never have been.”
• The words hung in the air between them, and for a moment, Noah’s entire world seemed to narrow to the space they occupied, to the heat of Elias’s body against his own, to the fire that burned in his chest. The tension crackled, and Noah’s pulse raced as Elias’s grip tightened, pulling him in, forcing him to face the truth he had been denying all along.
• “I’m not your puppet,” Noah whispered, his breath shaky, his body betraying him as his mind screamed to break free.
• Elias’s eyes gleamed, something dark and possessive flickering in them. “You’re not my puppet, Noah. You’re mine.”
• Before Noah could respond, Elias’s lips crashed down on his, and everything else faded away. There was no club, no noise, no distance between them. Just heat, just fire. The kiss was forceful, almost desperate, and Noah’s body—betraying him once again—responded, the desire flooding through him in waves.
• It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was everything Noah had been trying to avoid, every dark corner of his desire laid bare in that one crushing moment. His mind screamed for him to stop, but his body didn’t listen.
• Elias pulled back just enough to look at him, his breath heavy, his eyes dark with something Noah couldn’t name. “You’ll regret this,” Noah whispered, his voice raw, but Elias’s smirk only deepened.
• “No,” Elias said softly, his thumb brushing Noa
• h’s lips, his gaze never leaving Noah’s. “You will.”