I knocked on the door, my body already gearing up for some kind of fight. It always ended like that, the friction between us when we were alone was stifling. I couldn't help pushing his buttons. Pissing him off was never my intention but it helped to ease some of the tension between us. So be it.
He grunted a response from the otherside of the door and I opened it. I was immediately irritated when he greeted me with a smile that soured instantly once he realized who it was. He had such a handsome smile, I just never saw it.
"What do you want." It wasn't a question and he stayed sitting at his desk, spinning around in his chair to face me.
"Delivery for you." I brightened my voice to a tone I knew irritated him but my hands were still shaking. Just being close to him made me squirm. I hated it. Hated him for making me feel this way.
"What, Alex couldn't deliver this himself?"
"He's busy."
He scoffed a reply, snatching the papers out of my hands and throwing them on the desk next to him before running a hand through his hair, making pieces of it fall in front of his eyes.
"That it?" He whispered, his voice tight.
"One more thing," I responded, walking into his space and leaning a hip on the desk next to him. His eyes tracked me like a predator tracks prey, his body unmoving otherwise.
It made me want to run.
It made me wish he'd chase me.
"Alex wants these back before tomorrow."
That got his attention, his eyes blazing at me as he stood up in a rage, slamming his chair backwards with his knees. "What?! Tomorrow?! There's no fucking way-"
I craned my head back to watch the rage on his face before busting out laughing, which only darkened his gaze towards me. I clutched my stomach, nerves rattling around inside me. I don't know why I said that, I knew he'd respond that way.
"Bitch." He spat. The way his hair hung in front of his eyes did little to filter the blistering rage.
I feigned hurt and wiped a theatrical tear from my eye. "Couldn't resist."
"He didn't actually say that, did he." Another non-question.
"Nah, but you should've seen your face." I made the motion of a chef's kiss. "Priceless-"
My words were cut off by his hand around my wrist and we both looked at it in shock, like he hadn't meant to do it either but here we were. He was shaking. Maybe I pushed him too far this time, I knew Alex had been riding his ass to keep up with the demands of the business as it grew. Since I met Alex and we had started dating, he quickly introduced me to his team and there was something between me and this confusing man in front of me that I didn't understand.
"Why do you like pissing me off?" He whispered slowly, his chest barely moving as we both stood suspended in the moment.
"Because you irritate me and pissing you off is fun for me." I responded, the words meaning less and less as my eyes traveled from my wrist to his gaze. He yanked my wrist towards him, pulling me off balance as his other hand caught my jaw roughly.
"Is that right." He whispered. A cold, calculated tone had taken root in his voice and I felt my body respond so fast it made my stomach cramp. I understood what this was now and we were careening towards dangerous territory. "You like pissing me off?"
I felt my face light up, bright heat spilling into my cheeks as he held my face effortlessly with one hand. "Yeah."
He narrowed his gaze at me. "Then why are you shaking right now?"
I flicked my tongue out to wet my lips, his attention on them in a way I'd never experienced before. He lingered on them before his gaze cut back to mine. "Because you're making me nervous, you piece of shit let me go."
I watched him evaluate me, his eyes carefully studying mine before slowly backing me into the desk. "Oh, I don't think this is nerves, princess."
The way the word spilled from his lips tilted the room around me. He figured it out faster than I did, and it didn't make me hate him any less. I had to crane my head back to look at him, the way he towered over me made me nervous and my body agreed, except it latched onto the way he called me 'princess'.
"Don't call me that." I whispered, no weight behind my words and it earned a venomous smile from him.
"And why not... that's what you are, isn't it?" He brought his face close to mine, tightening his grip on my jaw just enough to keep my full attention. "A pampered, fucking princess who's never had to do any real fucking work around here because you're banging the boss."
"How fucking dare you-"
"Shut the fuck up. I'm not done."