Which meant I couldn’t fuck this up.
That night, back in my room, Elena was already curled under the sheets when I walked in. She’d showered while I was downstairs briefing the team. Her hair was damp, curling slightly at the ends. She looked over at me and smiled faintly. “Tomorrow.”
I nodded and started pulling my shirt off. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”
She watched me undress in silence, then held up the edge of the blanket.
I slid in beside her, pulling her close. She burrowed into my chest, and I ran my palm down her back, slow and steady.
“I hear you're going to the spa?” I asked softly as I ran my fingers through her silky strands.
She nodded, causing the top of her head to bump my chin. “Stella thought it would keep me busy until…”
Her voice trailed off.
I could feel her tension because it was as palpable as my own.
“He won’t touch you,” I murmured into her hair.
“I know.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Because if he gets anywhere near you, I’ll fucking gut him.”
Tomorrow—Jareth Marks would finally pay.
15
ELENA
Breakfast at the clubhouse should’ve settled my nerves, but all it did was make me more aware of how unsettled I felt. Reeve noticed me pushing my food around instead of eating it. He slid his hand over my thigh beneath the table, squeezing lightly.
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
He didn’t look convinced. “If you weren’t going to the spa with Stella and Courtney, I’d fuck the nerves out of you.”
“You already tried that when we woke up.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “But I would’ve been up to trying again if I didn’t have girl time planned this morning.”
The old ladies of the club’s prez and VP thought taking me to the spa would be a good way to keep my mind off the meeting with Jareth. It was only going to be the three of us because the other four women I’d grown close to were all pregnant, and the person who specialized in prenatal massages was already fully booked for today.
The offer was too sweet to pass up, but the idea of spending the next few hours in bed with Reeve instead made me wish I had turned them down.
“We’ll make up for it tonight.” He squeezed my thigh again and gave a meaningful look at the mostly untouched stack of pancakes in front of me.
I ate a few more bites before Stella came into the kitchen. “Okay, girl time begins now.”
Courtney was right behind her. “We'd better leave now, before Arlen notices I’m gone and gives his daddy a hard time.”
Their three-month-old son was breastfeeding, so our little outing was perfectly timed for when he was napping. Assuming Blaze was able to get him to go down. The club’s VP was scary to everybody but his wife and baby boy.
Reeve sighed, rubbing a hand over his face like he was debating locking me in his room instead. I stood and smoothed my shirt, giving him a reassuring look. “I’ll be fine.”
“You better be,” he muttered, pulling me in for one more hard kiss before releasing me to Stella, who immediately hooked her arm through mine.
“Relax,” she said as she steered me out of the clubhouse and over to an SUV. “We’re going to massage your stress away and maybe get you looking less like you spent the night doing very athletic things.”
When my cheeks flamed, Courtney snickered. “You’re glowing. Own it.”
They teased me all the way to the spa, but it didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. It was all in good fun and felt like they were treating me like I belonged. By the time we reached the spa, most of my tension had eased. But the hot tea Reeve had insisted I drink hit me while we were waiting for our names to be called.
