Chapter 10 #2
"Get home safely," she reminded him, slipping effortlessly back into her usual composed demeanor. "And send me a message when you get there."
Logan sighed, gave her one last reluctant nod, and turned toward the parking lot.
Elise remained where she was, watching him walk away without calling after him.
Her expression barely changed, but the faint line between her brows never disappeared.
She didn't move until he climbed into his car and the engine came to life.
Only after the taillights disappeared beyond the exit did she quietly release the breath she'd been holding.
Smoothing an invisible wrinkle from her dress, she turned toward the yacht.
She had barely taken a few steps before the strange sensation of being watched settled over her.
Her pace slowed.
When she looked up, her eyes met Xavier's.
His tall frame outlined beneath the lights spilling from the yacht.
One hand rested casually inside the pocket of his tailored trousers while the other hung at his side, but there was nothing casual about the way he looked at her.
His gaze never wavered, fixed on her with such quiet intensity that it made her chest tighten.
Elise offered him a faint smile, hoping it would ease whatever was troubling him, then continued walking toward the yacht. As she came alongside him, intending to pass without saying anything, a firm hand suddenly closed around her wrist.
The unexpected grip brought her to an immediate stop.
Before she could gather her thoughts, Xavier gave a sharp pull, drawing her back until she was standing directly in front of him. She lifted her head in confusion, a loose strand of hair falling across her cheek as she searched his face.
"What is it?" she asked gently.
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he studied her in silence, his eyes moving over her face as though searching for an answer she hadn't spoken aloud. Then one dark brow lifted.
"Who was that?"
She blinked. "Who?"
"The man." His voice remained even, but the controlled calm only made it more intimidating. "Who were you talking to?"
Realization softened her expression.
"Oh." A small smile touched her lips. "He's no one important."
She reached down, lightly resting her fingers over the hand holding her wrist, hoping to reassure him without making a scene. "Don't worry about it. Let's go back inside. I'm sure there are plenty of people waiting to talk business with you."
With gentle persistence, she eased herself free from his grasp and turned toward the passerrail once more.
She hadn't managed more than a single step before his hand caught her again.
This time, there was nothing gentle about it.
His fingers wrapped securely around her wrist, and before she could protest, he drew her back toward him, turned on his heel, and led her away from the crowd without saying a single word.
"Xavier..." she called softly, hurrying to match his long strides.
He didn't slow down.
He guided her along the quieter side of the yacht where the music became little more than a distant hum and the cheerful conversations faded into the background.
The further they walked, the fewer people they passed, until they reached a secluded corner hidden from the guests by the yacht's towering white structure.
Only then did he stop.
The sudden halt caught Elise off guard. She took one more step before her back met the cool exterior wall of the yacht. She barely had time to steady herself before Xavier stepped forward, closing the distance between them.
In an instant, his hand cradled her face, fingers brushing against her skin as his mouth crashed onto hers with a fierce urgency that stole her breath.
She trembled under the weight of his kiss, her body responding instinctively to his commanding presence.
His lips enveloped hers, pulling her into a passionate embrace that left her quaking, caught between pleasure and surprise.
He pressed her firmly against the wall, his mouth asserting complete dominance as he captured her lower lip, sucking on it with such fervor that a cry escaped her lips. Desperation surged within her, and she clung to him for support, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
But he wasn’t ready to release her; instead, he tightened his grip, one hand anchoring her waist while the other held her face steady, kissing her with a rough hunger that made her gasp for air.
Just as she began to feel lightheaded, he finally loosened his hold slightly, allowing his hand to slide down to grasp her wrist while keeping her pinned against the wall. Breathless gasps spilled from her lips as he trailed his kisses from her mouth to her throat.
When he bit the side of her neck, a sharp gasp escaped her, the sudden pain sending a jolt through her body as he licked and sucked at the sensitive skin with ravenous intent.
His mouth shifted to the opposite side of her neck, his tongue gliding over the mark he had just created before he took it into his mouth, sucking with an insatiable hunger that left her gasping again.
Elise shuddered, her entire body tensing and trembling under his relentless attention. He explored every inch of her skin as though he had been starving for her touch.
Growing more impatient, he lavished her neck with fervent kisses and bites until it was adorned with a tapestry of red marks and hickeys.
Then he finally lifted his head, his dark eyes sweeping slowly over her flushed face.
He looked down at her for a long moment, his gaze heavy with restrained hunger as he took in every trembling breath she drew.
One hand came up beside her head, bracing against the wall.
The other still held her wrist.
His broad shoulders blocked the light behind him, surrounding her completely. The familiar scent of his cologne lingered in the small space between them, and although he hadn't raised his voice, the restrained anger radiating from him was impossible to miss.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his.
His jaw was rigid.
The muscle there flexed once.
Twice.
He looked like a man forcing himself to stay in control.
"What the hell is going on, Elise?" he asked quietly.
There was no warmth in his voice now. Only restraint stretched dangerously thin. His eyes searched hers with relentless intensity before his grip unconsciously tightened around her wrist.
"Who was he?"
The question hung between them.
Xavier couldn't erase the image from his mind no matter how hard he tried.
Seeing another man standing so close to her...
watching that man reach for her hand... watching Elise stare at him so affectionately...
every second of it had lodged itself beneath his skin like a splinter he couldn't pull free.
Jealousy was an unfamiliar emotion for him.
He despised it.
Yet tonight it coursed through him with a force that refused to be ignored.
For as long as he had known Elise, her attention had always found him first. Whether she realized it or not, her eyes instinctively searched for him whenever they entered the same room.
Her quiet concern, her gentle smiles, the patience she showed only him...
he had grown so accustomed to them that somewhere along the way, he'd started believing they belonged only to him.
But lately...
Something had changed.
That man kept appearing around her.
Once could have been a coincidence.
Now it was becoming a pattern.
And with every encounter, the possessiveness Xavier had spent years keeping under perfect control became harder to restrain.
He had told himself it was none of his business.
He had buried the feeling beneath meetings, contracts, and endless work, convincing himself it would disappear if he ignored it long enough.
Instead, it had only grown stronger.
Tonight, watching another man touch her, whatever control he had left finally snapped.
"Why are you hiding him?"
His voice was quiet.
Elise's lashes fluttered, but she didn't answer.
Xavier let out a slow breath through his nose, his jaw hardening as he searched her face. Every second of her silence only confirmed the suspicion that had been gnawing at him for days.
"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, his brows drawing together. "Are you hiding something from me?"
She opened her mouth, only for him to cut her off before a single word could leave her lips.
"Who is he?"
His gaze never left hers.
"The man you were just with." His eyes narrowed. "He's the same one who came to meet you a few days ago, isn't he?"
The words came out sharper than he intended, edged with a jealousy he could no longer disguise.
His hand slid from her wrist to her forearm, his fingers tightening just enough to stop her from looking away.
"Who is he, Elise?"
That there had to be a reasonable explanation.
But every time that man appeared, every time he saw Elise with him, the uneasiness inside him grew until it became impossible to ignore.
Tonight had been the final straw.
Seeing another man take her hand...
Watching her smile at him...
Then finding her deliberately hiding his identity...
It ignited something inside Xavier that reason could no longer suppress.
He hated the feeling. Hated how irrational it made him. Hated that the mere thought of another man occupying her attention was enough to make every muscle in his body tense.
Yet he couldn't stop it.
Jealousy coursed through him with a force that left his chest tight and his temper hanging by a thread.
Elise lowered her eyes for a moment before gently trying to free her arm from his grasp.
"Xavier..." she said softly, her voice as patient as ever. "You're misunderstanding."
She finally eased herself from his hold and smoothed the sleeve of her dress before offering him a small, reassuring smile.
"Let's go back to the party." She nodded toward the brightly lit deck where music and laughter still floated through the night. "It's getting late, and you've been away for quite a while. People will start looking for you."
With that, she turned to leave.
She had barely taken a step.