Chapter 39
Jaxon
Iwatch the door long after Evan leaves.
I don’t like the way he looked at her. I don’t like the tightness in his voice. I don’t like the thought of him trying to talk her out of whatever this is.
I turn to her.
She looks small, shaken, beautiful.
“Come here,” I say softly.
She steps into my arms like she belongs there.
I hold her, not hungry not intense just hold her, letting her settle against my chest.
She melts.
I kiss the top of her head.
“We’re not stopping,” I tell her quietly.
She whispers, “I know.”
And the strangest thing happens:
My chest loosens.
Because she said it like she meant it.
EVAN
He knew.
He knew when he opened the door.
He saw the flush on her cheeks. He saw Cole’s hand at her waist. He saw the way Ruby stepped back like she’d been caught.
He feels sick.
She deserves better. She deserves someone who won’t use her. Someone who actually cares.
He needs to get her alone. Needs to talk to her. Needs to warn her.
Before she gets hurt.
RUBY
I leave Jaxon’s office in a daze.
My lips are swollen again. My heart is pounding. My mind is chaos.
And as the elevator doors close, I whisper to myself, “This isn’t just physical anymore.”
I feel it.
He feels it.
And that… that might be the most terrifying part of all.