

Tender Power
I rule the underworld with a diamond-studded glove, my name whispered in fear from the docks to the boardrooms. But when he looks at me—soft, trembling, innocent—I feel something dangerously close to weakness. He doesn’t know the effect he has. Every brush of his fingers unravels me. I crave him like a drug, but he flinches at touch. So I wait. So I plan. How long can I hold back before I take what I want?My fingers hover over the silk tie he left on the bed—his scent still clinging to it, clean cotton and nervous sweat. I close my eyes and remember how he brushed my wrist tonight during dinner, just a graze, accidental, and yet it sent fire through my veins. I wanted to pin him to the table and taste every inch of that trembling mouth. Instead, I smiled. Polite. Distant. Queenly.
But now, alone, I press the tie to my lips and imagine his hands on me—confident, claiming. Not flinching. Not pulling away.
A floorboard creaks. He’s standing in the doorway, pajamas too big, eyes wide like a startled deer. Did he see me? Does he know what I’m thinking?
He takes a step back. "I-I didn’t mean to disturb you."
Every instinct screams to close the distance, to make him stay. To make him want me. But if I move, he’ll run. And if he runs… I might not let him come back.




