Page 80 of The Jaded Notes

“Why do you say that?”

She gathers her hair and pulls it to one side. “This is how you’ve always been with me.”

“How so?”

“One minute, we’re getting along and you let me see glimpses of your kindness, then something happens, and you shut down. It’s always been this way with you. I don’t know why I thought it would be any different.”

My insides twist because the tone in her voice tells me this will not be behavior she puts up with. At least not with the man she’s sleeping with.

A tightening winds around my stomach and I shrink inside. “Livianna, I’m sorry. This is new territory for me.”

“It is for me, too.”

We stand in place, neither of us willing to take a step to close the distance. Neither of us willing to be vulnerable with the other.

Her gaze locks on mine, a storm I can’t read. For a second, I think she’s about to end the space between us. Then the shutters drop, and I’m staring at the kind of fortress even I can’t infiltrate without leaving damage.

“You can go, Jax.” Her words wear indifference, but I can hear the hurt bleeding underneath. Soft enough to tempt me to want to soothe her, sharp enough to cut if I push too far.

I’ve built an empire on control. Every step, every move, and every negotiation designed to bend outcomes without anyone seeing my hand in it.

But with her, nothing holds. Not the detachment, nor the rules.

I should leave.

Instead I linger, mapping every line of her face, the stubborn tilt of her chin, the way her fingers grip the edge of the table like she’s holding herself together by sheer will.

If I step closer, I’ll have her against the wall, breathing my name like she’s forgotten every reason she ever had to resist. If I step away, I’ll replay this moment until it rots me from the inside.

The air between us fractures. I nod and force myself toward the door, every muscle screaming at me to stop.

But just before I’m gone, my hand brushes hers—barely there, a ghost of contact—and the shiver that runs through her follows me out of the room like a brand seared on my soul.

The moment I’m away from her, I’m already starving for the sound of her voice when it isn't coated in steel. For the way she looked in my shirt that morning…bare legs, bare skin, and no caution in her smile.

And God help me, I’ll do anything to feel that again.

Chapter Eighteen

LIVIANNA/LILY

Then

Iron Armor & Soft Kisses

What’s the big deal about control, anyway?

“Good night, my special little boo.” Trent waves as I climb the stairs to my apartment after having dinner together.

“Good night, my Greek God.”

We ended the evening early because I couldn’t concentrate. I told him it was because of a deadline coming up, but the truth is I keep replaying Jaxon’s and my interaction over in my head.

I wish there were a way I could get him to drop his armor, but he wears it like a uniform. He’s a tough one to crack.

I reach my door and smile when I notice the new doorknob. Just like he promised, Jaxon fixed the door and changed the locks the night I stayed at his penthouse.

A heavy sigh releases as I unlock it. “Even if it was only one night, it’s one I’ll never forget.”