My stomach twists painfully.
“I’m sorry,” I say, barely audible. “I never meant to lead you on.”
“You didn’t,” he says quickly. Then softer, “But it still hurts.”
I breathe out slowly.
“I need you to understand something.” I meet his eyes. “What’s happening with Jaxon, it’s messy and it’s complicated, but it’s my choice.”
He flinches.
“And I’m asking you,” I continue gently, “to trust me.”
He closes his eyes for a moment.
“Okay,” he whispers. “But… be careful. Please.”
Before I can reply, the door opens.
And Jaxon is standing there.
His eyes? Cold.
His jaw? Tight.
His presence? A warning wrapped in a perfect suit.
“Everything alright?” he asks, but his eyes never leave Evan.
Evan straightens.
“We were just talking.”
“About what?” Jaxon asks, voice deceptively calm.
“Nothing that concerns you,” Evan says.
Oh no.
OH NO.
Jaxon steps closer, just enough to fill the space.
Ruby’s body remembers last night and reacts, heat flushing her cheeks, breath catching.
Evan sees it. His expression cracks.
Jaxon sees that reaction too.
And something shifts behind his eyes, possessiveness, cold and hot at once.
He leans in slightly toward me.
“Ruby,” he murmurs, low and intimate, “I need you in my office.”
My breath catches.
He knows Evan is listening. He doesn’t care.
