"You're still on Pharrell's payroll," he said finally.
"Fuck the job." I grabbed his wrist. "I'll tell the boss to keep his money if it means that much to you. I don't care. I just… I need you to stop treating this like it has an expiration date."
"Pip," he whispered, voice broken like what I was saying finally got through.
"Tell me I'm wrong. I know you, Henny. I get why you think I’m not a sure bet, but that’s not true anymore. I want to get a place here. With you. Want you to organize it in your freaky obsessive way, and I want you to tell me there’s a chance you want that too."
"There's a chance," Henny said quietly, and my heart stuttered. "There's more than a chance. But I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
He gestured between us. "This. I can’t let my guard down. Not in the life we’re involved in. Giving up any amount of control feels wrong.”
I understood then. It wasn't about me specifically. It was about Henny being terrified of giving someone the power to hurt him, to disrupt the careful order he'd built his entire life around.
"You already let me in, Henny. I sleep in your bed every night. You hold my hand in the dark. You have more control over me than anyone ever has. It's time you stopped fighting it and just let yourself have what you want."
His hand came up to cover mine where I still held his wrist. "What if I fuck up?"
I managed a crooked smile. "I'm pretty good at chaos, remember? I can handle a little mess."
Henny huffed out something that might have been a laugh. "You're going to drive me insane."
"Probably," I agreed. "But you're going to love it, Daddy."
He looked at me for a long moment, and I could see the decision forming behind his eyes. The moment he stopped fighting and let go.
"Come on. Let's get out of this lobby before you cause a scene."
"Too late for that," I said cheerfully as I let him tug me toward the elevators.
I caught our reflection in the polished doors while we waited. We looked like a couple. Like we actually belonged together.
CHAPTER 13
Henny
The elevator ride felt endless.
I kept my eyes fixed on the floor numbers, hyperaware of Pip beside me. Our hands were still linked, Pip's thumb tracing random patterns against my palm like he couldn't help himself. He acted like touching me had become as natural as breathing.
Which, of course, made me think about earlier.
His possessive display in the lobby kept replaying in my mind. The way Pip had inserted himself between me and Woody with that unhinged sort of violence in his eyes. The way he'd called himself my boyfriend like it was fact instead of a label we’d never, ever discussed.
Most of all, I couldn’t get the way he looked at me as he spoke. His eyes had been filled with raw need. There was no question of where his loyalties were.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
The doors opened to our floor. We walked in silence to the room. My hands shook slightly as I let us in, and I knew Pip noticed.
Pip noticed everything about me.
The door clicked shut behind us.
I set my tablet on the desk, buying myself a moment to think. To figure out what happened next. Pip had laid everything bare in that lobby. He’d practically begged me to stop fighting our connection after seeing me with Woody.
And I wanted to. I wanted to stop pretending I didn't think about Pip constantly, didn't crave the weight of his gaze on me, or replay every moment we spent together on an endless loop.
