ABSOLUTE INSANITY: A forbidden bond-Chapter 208: First kiss.

Chapter 208

KATYA POV

My back hit the wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs. The steel was freezing against my spine. There was nowhere left to retreat.

Romeo stopped a few feet away. The gun stayed lowered, but the threat filled the space between us like a living thing.

"You wandered into a restricted level," he said evenly. "Past locked doors. Past cameras. Past every rule I gave you."

His eyes flicked, briefly, to the door beside me. Then back to my face.

"People don’t do anything in this house without stupid reasons, Katya."

My hands trembled at my sides. I curled my fingers into fists, nails biting into my palms, grounding myself through the fear.

"So," he said, voice soft now and somehow worse for it, "you’re going to give me one."

He tilted his head slightly, studying me like a problem he’d already solved.

"And it better be convincing." The gun shifted minutely in his grip. "Because if it isn’t," he finished calmly, "this is where your betrayal ends."

Silence swallowed the basement.

My heart thundered in my ears as I forced myself to breathe, forced myself not to look at the weapon, not to shrink.

I had come down here for Aria. If I folded now—if I let fear, It would be useless.

I swallowed hard, lifting my chin despite the terror clawing up my throat. "Was that how you ended you your cousin." I met his eyes.

His face didn’t change.Not a flicker. Not a tightening of his jaw. Nothing.

But his other hand moved. My breath vanishe as his fingers lifted, angling toward my face like he meant to grip my jaw, maybe snap my head back, force me to look at him.

The motion was unhurried—controlled in a way that made my nerves scream louder than if he’d lunged.

I told myself not to flinch but ofcourse I failed. My shoulders jerked despite my effort, a sharp, instinctive recoil I couldn’t stop.

Heat flooded my face with humiliation as my body betrayed me, bracing for impact that never came.

Because his hand stopped. Mid-air. So close I could feel the faint displacement of air against my cheek.

The pause was intentional. He let it hover there for a heartbeat too long, letting me sit with the expectation, letting me feel exactly how easily he could touch me, hurt me, end this.

Then his fingers curled slowly into a fist, and his hand dropped back to his side.

My lungs burned. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath.

Romeo’s eyes never left mine.

"You shouldn’t say things you haven’t thought through," he said quietly.

That was it. No shout. No rage. Just that low, measured warning that sent a cold shiver down my spine.

I swallowed hard, my pulse hammering so violently I was sure he could hear it.

"I didn’t—" I stopped myself. Too fast. Too defensive. Another mistake waiting to happen. "I thought it through ."

A lie. Or maybe just a half-truth. Something dark flickered behind his eyes.

He stepped closer—close enough now that I could see the faint scar along his neck. "Is that so," he said softly, a small smirk trying to break through.

My back pressed harder into the wall, but I didn’t look away. Why was he smiling, what’s so funny. I just tried provoking him and he didn’t blow out on me.

Silence stretched, the only sound was the low hum of the building and the steady click of the camera somewhere overhead, recording everything.

Romeo studied me like I was something unfamiliar. Something that hadn’t behaved the way he expected.

My eyes locked onto his before I could stop myself. That was the mistake.

Romeo noticed it instantly—the way my breathing stuttered, the way I didn’t look away this time.

Something unreadable crossed his face, and the faint smirk faded just as quickly as it appeared.

He leaned in. Not rushed. Not sudden. Deliberate.

The gun stayed loose in his hand, lowered, forgotten but somehow that made it worse. His presence filled the space in front of me, close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the solid reality of his body blocking every possible escape.

My spine pressed flat against the steel wall.

I couldn’t move. My mind screamed at my body to react—to shove him, to turn my face, to do something—but fear locked me in place, cold and paralyzing.

His hand came up again, this time not stopping.

Two fingers hooked lightly under my chin, not forcing, just guiding. An order more than a touch. I hated that my body obeyed before my mind could fight it.

Then he closed the distance. His lips brushed mine.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t lingering. It was brief, controlled—claimed rather than shared.

I froze completely, every muscle locked, my hands clenched uselessly at my sides. I didn’t respond. Didn’t lean in. Didn’t pull away.

I couldn’t tell which would be worse. The contact lasted only a second before he pulled back, just enough to look at my face, to see the shock, the confusion, the fear I hadn’t managed to hide.

His fingers dropped from my chin. My heart was pounding so hard it hurt. My lips felt numb—not from him, but from the adrenaline flooding my system.

He took a step back, reclaiming space like he’d never crossed it at all.

"Don’t mistake my restraint for weakness," Romeo continued calmly. "Or my curiosity for mercy."

His gaze flicked once more to the locked door beside me. "Especially down here."

I swallowed, forcing air back into my lungs, my body still shaking as the weight of what had just happened settled heavily in my chest.

"Now get to your room and lock it." He said, walking deeper into the basement. Leaving me breathless and stupid.

††

Well well well, another bonus Chapter and our first kiss lol.

What do y’all think about this, do you think Romeo was in his right Senses, was the kiss sudden, was it meh and what do y’all think would happen next. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Please y’all feedback is what makes me a better writer. Thanks