Page 3 of Code Violation

When I twist my neck, we make the kind of eye contact that would floor me if I didn’t have a king-size bed frame beneath my ass.

“Tell me that you aren’t considering going back to him.”

When Vesper breaks eye contact with me, I have the answer I was dreading.

“He won’t treat you any better this time around. It’s all just bullshit to get you where he wants you. Give it a couple of weeks, and he’ll be back to his former ways—expecting you to clean up after him around the house and snapping at you every chance he gets.”

“I’m not going back to him.”

I pin her with a look, determined to see through the lies.

She shakes her head, throwing up her arms. Today, she’s wearing a pair of casual blue sweatpants and a long-sleeved white top. Hair pulled into a high-top ponytail, pieces falling around her delicate features.

Christ, he really doesn’t deserve her.

“You can do so much better, Ves.”

I’ve overstepped another boundary, except I can’t find it in me to care as I keep my eyes trained on hers.

Vesper opens her mouth and then closes it, finally deciding on a response as she declares once more, “I’m not going back to him.”

There isn’t much more to say, and I don’t have any words to give her other than, I can show you what a real man looks like.

Rising from the bed, I walk toward her bedroom door.

I don’t want to leave and definitely not like this. I showed up here tonight, hoping to find Vesper done with Kane and busy living her best life, not with the sadness I see in her eyes right now.

“Si.”

With my hand on the door handle, I slowly turn to face her. She climbed off the bed and is now standing a few feet away from me.

A pair of sneakers I bought her when she first started her job at Riley’s sit beside her bed, and I remember how fucking happy she was at the surprise gift. Vesper has never had a lot in life, but she’s never complained either, just soldiered on in a way that makes my heart hurt—and relate—equally. There’s so much strength in this woman, even if she doesn’t believe it herself.

I tower over her, wishing that it were appropriate for me to wrap her in my arms. This woman is the strongest person I’ve ever known, with a feisty attitude to match. Does she know the impact that she has on me every time we’re in the same room?

My heart thumps in my chest like it can hear my racing thoughts.

“Yeah, Ves?” I ask, voice noticeably flat.

Vesper starts chewing on the corner of her thumb, and I reach up and pull her hand away before she does some serious damage to those pretty nails.

“Why do you care?” she asks again, only softer this time. “You are literally a famous hockey player with a huge following of fans. I’m nobody to you.”

I close the space between us, opening my mouth to tell her exactly why I give a damn. I’ve spent too long holding in my feelings. There are only so many times I can swallow them down.

“Wait.” Vesper’s attention darts to her bedroom door. “That’s Drew.” She snatches her cell from the nightstand, panic rising in her eyes. “Shit! Have you seen the time?”

I pull my own phone from my pocket. “Fuck! I was supposed to be at the rink ten minutes ago.”

“And I was supposed to be ready to leave with Drew. Now she’s going to catch you leaving my bedroom and draw all kinds of conclusions.”

Vesper grabs her bag from the floor next to her sneakers, and I wrap my hand around her upper arm, asking her to slow down.

“When can I see you again? We need to talk.”

I watch the way Vesper closes herself off, like a curtain coming down at the end of a show.

“There isn’t anything more to say, Silas. I’ve asked you to stay out of my business, and you still showed up here, wanting to get involved in a life and relationship that isn’t yours.”