Wrapped In Silk | ✔️

12

~Wisteria's POV~

Over the next few days, Cayn and I saw each other pretty often once more, as he seemed to refuse allowing me to avoid him again. I couldn't help but to let my mind linger on the time that I had spent with him over the short time span, how kind and attentive he was to me. Yet I was stumped, unable to get out of my head about how.....normal he had been.

It was a strange thing to dwell on, but I couldn't help it. He had told me that he wanted me and wasn't going to shy away from that fact, and I'd expected him to behave a little differently. As if he wanted me. I felt stupid for being so stuck on the fact that he hadn't acted as such, and guilt gnawed at my insides. What was wrong with me? I had specifically told him that I couldn't entertain his feelings for me, yet I was disappointed that he wasn't showing them.

"I'm so stupid." I whispered to myself with a shake of my head as I sat at my desk in my office, trying to pull myself out of my head for five minutes. All I needed to do was focus and I couldn't seem to do it for the life of me.

As I looked back at the screen of my computer, there was a knock on my office door before it was swung open gently, causing me to glance up in annoyance. "I didn't say you could co--" I began to speak but stopped when my gaze landed on Cayn, who was leaning against the doorframe as he looked at me. My face got hot and I bit on the inside of my cheek, suddenly unable to say what I had intended to now that I knew it was him. "What were you saying, sweetheart?" He asked, a playful smirk tugging at the edges of his full lips.

"Uh, n-nothing, really." I stammered, setting the pen that I'd been fiddling with in my hand down on my desk. I straightened up in my chair and brushed my fingers through my loosely curled hair. "What are you doing here, though? I didn't think you'd be here at the office today." I said, curiosity in my voice.

Cayn shrugged his broad shoulders, shoving his hands deep into the front pockets of his slacks. "Well, I technically am only here for you right now, actually. I haven't been in the rest of the day." He responded honestly, causing me to blink, surprised and a little bit confused. My brows furrowed. "For me? Why?" I asked, heart secretly beginning to flutter and race. It felt wrong but I couldn't help the excitement that simmered within me, making me feel nervous around him. Not even Owen used to make me feel like this when I first started liking him.

He nodded his head in the direction of the clock that was hung on the wall to his right. "It's lunch time. I wanted to see if you wanted to join me, if you're not busy." He told me, the offer causing a soft, shy smile to grow on my lips. Though the two of us having lunch with one another wasn't an uncommon occurrence, I still felt warm inside over the fact that he had come all the way here just to ask me. "Well, I suppose I could spare a little bit of time." I said, rising from my chair.

The edges of his lips twitched up and I felt his gaze on me still as I turned off the monitor of my computer before I grabbed my purse, as I almost never went somewhere without it. I approached the door, expecting him to step out of the way so that we could go, but he remained as he was, leaning against the frame. My feet came to a halt just before him and I tilted my head back to peer up at him, cocking up a brow. "Are we going to go?" I asked.

For a moment, Cayn just stared at me, gaze lingering on my lips before traveling down the length of my body. A warmth fled into my cheeks and I felt a heat pooling in the pit of my stomach, my body's reaction to the way he looked at me making me flustered. "You look beautiful." He told me in a hum, slipping out of the way so I could pass. My cheeks burned as I fiddled with the strap of my purse, stepping out of the office so my office door could swing shut behind me. "T-Thanks." I whispered, the two of us beginning to head down the hallway together.

We headed to the elevator and I pressed the button to summon it, sparing a glance up to him. "You're picking the spot this time, right?" I asked, a little smile tugging at the edges of my lips. He chuckled, large hand pressing against my lower back as the doors slid open and he followed closely in step behind. "I did promise that I would, didn't I, sweetheart?" He teased, lingering close beside me as the elevator doors shut.

A smile lingered on my lips. "Glad you remember."

**

Cayn and I sat together in his car after eating lunch with one another, just sitting in the parking lot in front of the office building. My lunch break wasn't technically over yet, and neither one of us seemed to want to part ways until we had to.

The radio was playing a random song on quiet as we spoke, his striking blue eyes boring into my brown ones. His gaze trailed over my face and lingered on my lips. "You're so fucking pretty, you know that?" He told me in a murmur, the low tone of his voice and the underlying desire there making my heart pound. As much as I hated myself for it, I liked that he found me pretty, that he was attracted to me. It was wrong, but I wanted him to want me, and I wanted to know it.

I wasn't sure what he must've seen on my face, but it caused him to smile slyly. "Hm? Careful with the way you look at me, sweetheart, or I might think you like it when I say things like that." He chuckled. My eyes widened and I swallowed thickly, embarrassed that he could evidently read me so easily. "Y-You just surprise me. I'm not used to compliments." I said honestly, deciding to leave out the fact that I enjoyed it nonetheless. Bringing it up wasn't necessary.

His eyes flashed with displeasure and he clenched his jaw. "A woman like you should be showered in them." He muttered, making me smile slightly to myself. I shook my head weakly, my teeth clamping onto my bottom lip. "If only." I giggled, brushing my fingers through my hair.

For a moment, Cayn stared at me, a frown on his lips and a thoughtful furrow between his dark brows. "I'll give you them. Your little boyfriend apparently can't be bothered do that, either." He grunted. I glanced down, embarrassed because he wasn't wrong. Owen and I hardly were intimate with one another, and he complimented me even less. Most of the time, he complimented me when he wanted to have sex, which wasn't often. It had been two months since the last time he'd complimented me, and even longer since he'd wanted to take off my clothes.

"Are you sure that's okay?" I whispered, casting my gaze up to his once again. Cayn hummed, long fingers reaching out to curl around mine. "If you're okay with it." He responded, that seeming to be his only concern. I peered up at him as he leaned into the console separating our seats, finding myself tempted to lean closer. "You're too charming for my own good." I told him, watching as a low chuckle left his lips.

He leaned closer and my head swam, consumed with his masculine scent and the want to kiss him. "Oh, yeah?" He hummed. "And why's that? Don't like how much you want me, sweetheart?" He teased, my cheeks burning at how easily he saw through me.

"I-I don't want you." I responded, trying my best to be confident in my words yet they came out weak and uncertain. He just gave me a look that I knew meant he wasn't buying it, and I couldn't even blame him. I wouldn't believe me, either. "You do, Wisteria." He hummed, fingers tangling between mine. My eyes fluttered down to our interlocked hands and I stared, contemplating the things that I was feeling. "But I shouldn't. I'm taken, Cayn." I argued softly, pulling my hand from his with reluctance.

A heavy sigh left his lips. "You're taken, yet I never see you with him. He disappoints you with every phone call. What is he giving you in this relationship?" He asked, the line of his jaw sharpening when he clenched his teeth. I stared at him, stunned because I knew he was right and yet I didn't want him to be. "Th—That's not fair. I told you it's just temporary." I said, telling him the same thing I always did. This time, he seemed less accepting of my response because he shook his head. "How long does it have to be for it to be temporary to you? A few months? That's what it's looking like from here." He argued.

My nails dug into the palm of my hands and I looked down at my lap, unsure what to say. I ended up not saying anything at all, stewing in my own thoughts instead.

Though Cayn and I had known each other for over a month and grown close, I felt ashamed of my feelings for him. I felt shitty for wanting him so badly when I had someone else. I had Owen, and he wasn't perfect, but he was mine and I was his. At least, I thought I was.

But if I was his, why did I want Cayn this way?