The silence between us built as I waited for him to speak, and a warm flush crept up my neck and onto my cheeks. Finally I risked a sideways glance.
Eli was staring—at me.
“What?” I gathered my bowl and plate, silverware, but couldn’t step away without looking at him again. “Eli?”
He shook his head. “I was just…” Another shrug showcased the thick muscles beneath his thin T-shirt. “I was trying to figure out what it is about you.”
The thump of my heartbeat got harder against my ribs. “What is what about me?”
He turned, planting a hip against the counter as he continued to stare. “Every time I look at you, it’s like a magnet,” he said, “pulling me back time and again. I noticed it at the restaurant. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. About you. And now…”
Every cell in my body screamed at me to run, hide, get away—and yet… “Now…what?”
“Now I know about you—a little of what you’ve been through, what you do, how you love your team.”
“They’re my family.” The amber glow of his gaze had me dropping mine.
Why was I looking at the floor? I wasn’t shy. I didn’t lack strength or confidence—maybe had a little too much sometimes, actually. And yet that look… God. It was his intensity, the way his gaze crawled inside me and uncovered things I didn’t want to think about, didn’t want to feel. Especially right now.
I couldn’t bear it; Eli Agozi was too much. Too big a threat—to me, personally, my emotions, my thoughts. He pulled me down paths I couldn’t afford to follow. Mere hours in his presence and I knew.
He was the biggest risk I couldn’t afford to take.
“I don’t think it’s only that they became your family, though it’s partly that. It’s also just who you are, Beautiful.” Eli leaned close until his nose barely brushed mine. Too close. “You fascinate me, Mikaela. I’m not sure why, and I’m definitely not certain where it will end, but I do know one thing: it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.” He nudged my nose, one side of his mouth tugging up. “I can’t wait.”