Fallen Actress' Comeback: Torn Between the Director and the Mafia Lord-Chapter 24: Messy Actress

Chapter 24

~Xena’s POV~

I froze.

It felt as though my spirit left my body to face whatever consequences I met. Maybe it was the way Xade’s voice wrapped around my name... low, controlled, edged with something that made every hair on my body stand.

Or maybe it was because he stepped fully into the office from another door at the far end, and shut the door behind him, slowly, like he wanted me to hear the final click of the lock.

"Tell me, Xena," he repeated, his gaze holding mine like a vice, "why did you run from me... do you like Raiden that much? Or is it just that you are a men magnet?"

My throat tightened with annoyance, embarrassment, and something too hot tangled in my chest.

I tried to speak, but failed. My lips parted, but nothing came out. I braced myself and walked in, stopping in front of his desk.

I wanted to prove my innocence and not buckle under his intense gaze, but I was failing.

Xade’s eyes dropped to my mouth for a heartbeat, and that alone sent my pulse into chaos.

He took one step toward me. Then another, and another, coming round his table to stand before me.

I instinctively stepped back until my hip bumped the desk.

"Do I need to remind you," he added, his voice dipping even lower, "that you fall under my supervision... not Raiden’s?"

That snapped something inside me.

"I wasn’t running," I blurted, though it sounded more defensive than confident. "I was simply avoiding unnecessary attention."

He huffed a breath, not quite a laugh. "Funny. You think disappearing into the shadows while the entire hall whispered your name counts as avoiding attention?"

He kept closing the space between us until the air warmed from his proximity. I had nowhere else to run. I could feel the heat of his body, just inches away.

He was too close, still, not near enough.

My heartbeat thudded so loudly I was certain he could hear it.

"I didn’t ask for anyone’s attention," I muttered. "Least of all yours."

His jaw tightened at that. Xade leaned in, one hand bracing beside me on the desk, effectively caging me in without touching me.

"So you don’t want my attention?" he murmured, eyes sweeping down my face with a slow, deliberate study.

My breath hitched. I hated that it did.

"That’s not what I said."

"What you said," he countered, leaning closer, "and what you meant are two different things."

His proximity burned. I could smell his cologne, clean, sharp, and minty, flooding my nostrils; it was making my head spin with need. My spine pressed into the desk.

"Xade..." I tried again.

He cut in quietly, "You belong on my set, in my line of sight, under my charge."

He paused as though waiting for my brain to remember all his words..

"And today... you were everywhere except where I needed you."

Something about the way he said needed made my knees weaken.

I swallowed hard. "Well, maybe I didn’t want to cause another scene."

He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I was an equation only he could solve.

"And yet," he said softly, "here you are. Causing one."

His words sat heavy between us, but my mind had already jumped ahead.

I swallowed, heat crawling up my throat. My palms pressed against the edge of the desk behind me.

"Fine," I muttered, exhaling sharply. "Since you’re already on a roll with accusations, why don’t we talk about something that matters?"

His eyes sharpened, and one eyebrow lifted, "Such as?"

"The clause," I said. "Your precious rule. The one you shoved in that contract like a trap."

His eyes flickered—interest, surprise, something darker. A slow exhale left him, almost amused.

Xade leaned back slightly, but not enough to give me space. "So you finally read it."

"You are to obey your boss, at any time and place, 24/7, no matter the task."

Xade’s words replayed in my mind.

I did not say anything because, in fact, I did not read it. I was too exhausted to do so. But I didn’t want Xade to think he still had one over me.

"That day, I didn’t exactly have the energy to skim line by line. Maybe that was your plan? Slip it in and hope I wouldn’t notice when I trusted you?"

One side of his mouth curved upward in that infuriating, sinful smirk I’d come to hate recognizing.

"You remember what I told you at Xavier’s bakery, don’t you?"

My stomach dipped. I hated that it did.

"That I don’t tolerate disobedience... from my employees," he murmured. "And that I don’t repeat myself."

"Not exactly. In your words, "you are to obey your boss, at any time and place, 24/7, no matter the task."

Something flickered in his gaze that made me think I had set another trap for myself.

"You also said you hate messy actresses," I shot back, remembering what he had told me before. "Yet here I am. Your ’mess.’"

His smirk sharpened. "You’re not messy. You’re reckless. There’s a difference."

"Reckless?" I pushed off the desk, just enough to narrow the gap between us by a breath, and meet his stare head-on.

"You’re the one cornering me like you own the oxygen in here. And you act like everything I do is some personal attack on you."

"It feels that way," he said plainly.

"Maybe that’s because you expect me to move exactly how you want."

"And maybe you expect too much freedom for someone under my supervision."

My jaw tightened. "I’m not a puppet, Xade."

"Well, I have seen those who are reckless fall and I am..."

"I am not your mistake or failed project. I am not a puppet. I am me, Xena Winter and I deserve a chance."

His jaw ticked in warning. "And you’re the one testing my patience."

"Maybe your patience needs testing."

The air snapped between us. I felt it, his restraint fraying at the edges.

Then he stepped closer. So close the heat of him brushed my skin without his hands touching me.

"Xena." His voice lowered. "You signed under my supervision. My rule stands. If you run, hide, disappear on my set again..."

"You’ll what?" I cut in sharply. "Fire me? Lecture me? Or write another clause telling me how to breathe?"

His nostrils flared. "Careful."

"You don’t get to control me outside your set," I said, lifting my chin. "You’re not my handler. Or my..."

"My what?" he demanded softly, leaning in until his breath skimmed my cheek. "My owner?"

A shiver ran down my spine. Damn him.

"That’s not what I said."

"No..." His voice turned molten. "But your tone implied it."

His hand lifted slowly as if he were giving me a chance to pull away.

My defiant, impulsive, angry self didn’t.

Xade’s fingers hovered near my jaw, not quite touching me but just close enough for the warmth of his skin to taunt mine.

Verbal sparring was nothing compared to this quiet war.

"The clause wasn’t hidden, Xena. You just didn’t read carefully."

"Forgive me for my blind trust," I shot back. "Or is that part of your plan too?"

His eyes locked on mine. "You think I need tricks to handle you?"

I didn’t answer, I looked away, I whispered, against the better judgment of my brain. "You don’t scare me, Xade."

"I’m not trying to scare you," he whispered back. "I’m trying to tame you."

My breath hitched, and I looked at him. Something in his eyes, lust-softened, possessive, told me he meant every word.

"Good luck," I breathed. "I don’t tame easily."

That did it.

Xade’s expression hardened with a hunger that punched heat through my chest. Slowly, he let his fingertips brush under my chin, barely a touch at first, then firmer, tilting my face toward him.

"Maybe not," he murmured. "But you bend."

My pulse thundered in my ears.

His thumb grazed my lower lip like his last act of mercy before he devoured me.

He leaned in close, so close I felt the warmth of his mouth, one breath away from mine... when a...

KNOCK.

The sharp knock slammed through the moment.

The door clicked open without waiting for permission.

"Oh—uh—Director?" Dominic’s voice stumbled in, followed by his head peeking in. "You... wanted the updated shooting schedule?"

Xade froze, jaw flexing so hard I thought the air might shatter. He didn’t move his hand from my chin. Didn’t step back or even blink. He just turned his head slightly.

Dominic’s eyes widened comically when he realized what he’d walked in on.

"Oh. Oh. I... well... this is... wow, I’ll just uh... leave this here. Sorry! Didn’t uh see... anything!"

He threw the folder inside like it was a grenade, then shut the door again, too fast, too loud.

My heartbeat was still in my throat.

Xade exhaled slowly, gaze dragging back to mine.

"This conversation," he said in a deep voice as his thumb slipped from my chin, "isn’t over."