Chapter 4 Under his gaze

Elena arrived at Hale Enterprises the next morning determined to reclaim her focus. Yesterday's encounter had left her unsettled-Alexander's words echoing in her mind, the way his eyes had stripped her bare without a single touch. She couldn't afford distractions. Not with deadlines looming and her entire future riding on this commission.

She dressed for battle: faded black leggings, an oversized shirt knotted at the waist, hair braided tightly back. Armor against whatever pull he exerted. The lobby was quieter today, construction crews on a different floor. She set up quickly, music louder in her earbuds, determined to drown out everything but the canvas.

The wall was transforming. Yesterday's violent base layers now cracked open with threads of silver and gold, light fighting through darkness. It felt like exposing her soul inch by inch, and the thought of him seeing it-of him seeing her-sent a forbidden thrill through her veins.

She didn't hear him arrive this time either.

One moment she was alone, lost in the rhythm of broad strokes across the upper reaches of the canvas, balanced precariously on the top step of the ladder. The next, a prickle of heat bloomed across her skin. She glanced down.

Alexander stood directly beneath her, closer than yesterday, arms crossed over his chest. No suit jacket today-just a charcoal dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing strong forearms corded with tension. His gaze wasn't on the painting.

It was on her.

Specifically, on the way her body stretched upward, shirt riding just high enough to expose a sliver of skin above her waistband. Elena's breath caught. She lowered the brush slowly, pulse thundering in her ears.

"You're going to fall if you lean any farther," he said, voice low and rougher than she remembered.

"I'm fine," she managed, though her legs felt suddenly unsteady. She descended the ladder one deliberate step at a time, hyper-aware of his eyes tracking every movement. When her boots touched the drop cloth, he hadn't moved back an inch. They were close enough now that she could see flecks of silver in his gray irises, the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw.

"You said you'd observe," she reminded him, tilting her chin up. "Not stand directly underneath me like a safety hazard."

A slow smile curved his mouth-dangerous, knowing. "I was ensuring your safety."

"By staring at my ass?"

The words slipped out before she could stop them. Heat flooded her face, but she refused to look away.

Alexander's eyes darkened, the smile fading into something far more intense. "I was admiring the artist," he corrected softly. "Every part of her."

The air between them crackled. Elena's heart slammed against her ribs. She should step back. Should reestablish boundaries. Instead, her body betrayed her, swaying almost imperceptibly closer.

He noticed-of course he did. His hand lifted, slow enough that she could have moved away. Instead, she froze as his thumb brushed a streak of dried paint from her cheekbone. The touch was feather-light, yet it burned like a brand.

"You missed a spot," he murmured. His thumb lingered, tracing the curve of her jaw before dropping away.

Elena swallowed hard. "I-I get messy when I work."

"I like you messy."

The words hung heavy, layered with meaning that had nothing to do with paint. Her lips parted, but no sound emerged. Alexander's gaze dropped to her mouth, and for one breathless second she thought he might close the distance. Thought he might kiss her right there against the half-finished canvas, paint still wet on her hands.

Instead, he exhaled sharply and took one deliberate step back.

"Show me what you did today," he said, voice controlled again, though the muscle ticking in his jaw betrayed him.

Elena turned to the wall, grateful for the excuse to hide her flushed face. She explained the new layers-the metallic threads symbolizing resilience, the way light was beginning to dominate the earlier chaos. Her voice steadied as she spoke about technique, about emotion translated into color and texture.

Alexander listened without interrupting, moving along the canvas with her. Occasionally he asked sharp, insightful questions that proved he understood more about art than she'd expected. When she reached the section she'd painted while thinking of his words yesterday-the bold crimson slash-she faltered.

He noticed that too.

"This part," he said, reaching out to hover his fingers just above the still-tacky paint. "It's different. More... possessive."

Elena's breath hitched. "Art evolves."

"So do reactions to it." His eyes met hers again. "I haven't stopped thinking about you since the alley. Covered in rain. Defiant. Beautiful."

The confession stole her air. She stared at him, heart racing. "You don't even know me."

"I know enough." He stepped closer again, crowding her space without touching. "I know you fight for every inch of canvas like it's survival. I know you bite your lip when you're concentrating." His gaze dropped to her mouth as if to prove it. "I know you feel this too."

Elena's back met the cool wall beside the canvas. Nowhere left to retreat. "This is a job," she whispered. "Nothing more."

"Is it?" His voice dropped to a near-growl. "Tell me to leave, Elena. Tell me you don't want me here watching you, wanting you, and I'll go."

Silence stretched, thick and electric. She should say it. Should protect herself from the storm in his eyes, from the way her body ached for contact she'd denied herself for years.

But the words wouldn't come.

Alexander's jaw tightened. "That's what I thought."

He didn't kiss her. Instead, he reached past her, picking up a wide brush from her supply tray. Without breaking eye contact, he dipped it into the crimson paint still open on her palette.

"What are you-"

Before she could finish, he swept the brush in a single, bold arc across the lower right corner of the canvas-an extension of her earlier slash, deeper, more commanding. The stroke claimed space, intertwining with hers in a way that felt intimately possessive.

He set the brush down carefully, paint still dripping from the bristles.

"Now it's ours," he said quietly.

Then he walked away, leaving her trembling against the wall, staring at the mark he'd left on her work-on her.

The rest of the day passed in a haze. Elena painted with frantic energy, trying to reclaim the canvas, to cover or incorporate his stroke. But every time she looked at it, heat pooled low in her belly. His mark remained, bold and unapologetic, just like the man himself.

By evening, exhaustion and frustration won. She packed up early, avoiding the elevators in case he was waiting.

In the safety of her apartment, she texted Lila:

*Emergency drinks tomorrow. I think I'm in trouble.*

Lila's reply was instant:

*Trouble named Alexander Hale? Girl, you're already drowning.*

Elena didn't deny it.

Across the city, Alexander stood in his penthouse shower, cold water doing nothing to temper the fire in his blood. He braced one hand against the marble wall, eyes closed, replaying the moment she hadn't told him to leave.

He'd built an empire on control. On never wanting anything he couldn't possess completely.

Elena Vasquez was going to destroy that.

And he was going to let her.

Tomorrow, he'd push further.

Tomorrow, he'd find out how much resistance she truly had.

Because the way she'd looked at his stroke on her canvas-like desire and defiance at war-told him everything he needed to know.

She wanted him just as badly.

And Alexander Hale never lost a chase.