Page 43 of Stranded with the Resort Owner

Lucas's hands settle at my waist, grounding me. His touch isn't firm. Isn't possessive. It's steady. But the heat behind it? That burns.

Our eyes lock.

The air shifts.

The excitement between us morphs into something heavier. Deeper. The kind of pull that has nothing to do with logistics or client satisfaction and everything to do with us.

His gaze drops to my lips. Intent clear. Breath catching.

My heart lurches.

Maybe this is it.

Maybe this moment, in the center of something beautiful we discovered together, is enough to draw him across that line.

To remind him that not everything born in the dark has to stay there.

I lean in slowly, giving him the chance to stop it.

He doesn't.

His breath ghosts across my skin, warm and wanting.

My eyes flutter closed.

And then?—

Darkness.

Complete and absolute.

The atrium's lights vanish, swallowed by the sudden power failure. Only the faint glow of twilight filters through the glass dome above, outlining our silhouettes in silver-blue.

I inhale sharply, blinking against the black.

Lucas steps back.

Just one step.

But it feels like a chasm.

"I should check the generator." He clears his throat.

The spell is broken.

The kiss never happened.

And the line between us?

Still there.

Still holding.

Even when I'm standing right on the edge…

Reaching for him.

"Timing." Lucas murmurs, his voice a mixture of frustration and amusement. "Always about timing."

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